Autodesk lays off 250 employees amid tech industry crunch

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Dive Brief:

• Autodesk has laid off 250 people across its global workforce, according to the San Francisco-based maker of design and building software for architects, construction contractors and engineers, putting it among the latest technology firms to slash its ranks. The cuts amounted to 2% of its workforce.
• Autodesk’s cuts appear to be the first at a major construction-related tech firm in recent months, though the company told Construction Dive the layoffs did not impact its Construction Solutions division, which includes the Autodesk Construction Cloud.
• CRN reported that former employees on LinkedIn held posts such as digital marketing manager, technical marketing manager, web optimization manager and digital marketing operations project manager.

Dive Insight:

Despite the positional cuts, the company emphasized that it is still hiring across key positions.

“The decision was not made due to cost-cutting or over-hiring as we’ve seen elsewhere in tech, and we will continue to invest with discipline and focus while re-balancing our resources to remain well aligned with our long-term priorities,” the company wrote in a statement to Construction Dive.

The firm said it will support impacted employees with severance, career services and assistance in finding alternative jobs at Autodesk.

Numerous tech companies, including giants Amazon and Microsoft, have announced layoffs over the past six months. The circumstances present opportunities for contractors and startups who are looking to bolster their ranks within the construction technology space.

In its last quarterly financial report released on Nov. 22, Autodesk’s earnings per share lined up with analysts’ expectations, but the company missed the mark on revenue by $941,100, according to stock analysis site SeekingAlpha.

According to a transcript of its earnings call, Debbie Clifford, Autodesk’s chief financial officer, declined to give formal fiscal guidance for the 2024 fiscal year, which started for the company this month.

However, Clifford said that she expected headwinds to come immediately in the year, partially due to a strengthening U.S. dollar that has plagued other businesses in the space, such as Dallas-based AECOM and London-based Balfour Beatty.

A strong dollar negatively impacts U.S. companies that do business overseas, since the native currencies they collect from foreign customers are weaker by comparison, and convert into fewer dollars when deposited into stateside bank accounts.

Autodesk’s next earnings call is on Thursday, Feb. 23.

This story has been updated to include the correct location of Autodesk’s headquarters.