AUTODESK is planning to cut about 1,350 employees as part of a broader focus on profitability following pressure from investors including activist Starboard Value.
The reductions will amount to about 9 per cent of the workforce, the company said on Thursday (Feb 20). Bloomberg had earlier reported on the planned job cuts.
The positions are being eliminated to change the company’s sales process and accelerate investments in artificial intelligence (AI), chief executive officer Andrew Anagnost wrote in a note to staff. The decision “is not the result of any third-party pressure”, he wrote.
Autodesk is one of the largest tech companies to avoid a major headcount reduction in recent years. A company spokesperson declined to comment.
The engineering-focused software maker has faced investor scrutiny over the last year after an accounting investigation delayed its financial filings and led to the replacement of its finance chief. Starboard has pushed for changes such as increasing margins as well as urging the board to consider replacing Anagnost. The activist hedge fund trimmed its Autodesk holdings in the period that ended in December, according to a recent filing.
The shares climbed about 1 per cent in extended trading after closing at US$282.35. The stock has declined 4.5 per cent this year.
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Restructuring charges will be US$135 million to US$150 million, Autodesk said. The company will also be reducing some facilities, it said. Autodesk expects to complete the reduction plan by the end of the fiscal year in January 2026, it said in a filing.
Separately, Autodesk reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded estimates. Profit, excluding some items, was US$2.29 a share, while revenue increased 12 per cent to US$1.64 billion in the period, which ended Jan 31.
Chief financial officer Janesh Moorjani said the company expects to deliver margins, according to generally accepted accounting principles, “among the best in the industry” after the sales and marketing changes are complete.
For the fiscal year ending in January 2026, athe djusted operating margin will be about 36.5 per cent, ahead of the 35.6 per cent anticipated by analysts. Revenue will be about US$6.93 billion, in line with estimates.
“We are encouraged to see the better operating margin and free cash flow outlook and most importantly, the optimisation plan,” wrote Jason Celino, an analyst at KeyBanc. BLOOMBERG
