7% OF INTUIT WORKFORCE TERMINATED IN COMPANY’S MOVE TO “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE” PLATFORM — 715 EMPLOYEES IMPACTED
According to a company statement…
“Sixteen months ago we refreshed our strategy to become an AI-driven expert platform and declared five big bets that are grounded in our customers’ biggest problems. We began transforming the company to revolutionize customer experiences and moving into new spaces. Thanks to you, we have momentum in creating a brighter future.”
“We are now facing a fundamental shift as the pace of change has dramatically increased. More customers are looking for virtual solutions, small businesses are accelerating their shift to omni-channel commerce, and money benefits and offerings matter more than ever.”
“We are playing offense and taking the necessary steps to lead this change. Speed matters more than ever, and the acceleration of change means we need to increase the velocity of our transformation. At Intuit, our willingness to reinvent and transform the company from a position of strength has been our hallmark for more than three decades. With customer needs rapidly evolving and competitors aiming to disrupt us, we need to act now and with urgency.”
“We’re announcing a series of changes across the company that will accelerate our transformation and increase our velocity by re-balancing our investments. Regrettably, these changes will impact 715 of our friends and co-workers. Departures are never easy, and those leaving have done great work for Intuit and I am deeply grateful for their service and contributions.”
“To align us for the acceleration we need for the future, we will invest in our most strategic areas, and plan to add more than 700 roles to build the capabilities needed as we look ahead. Even though these are decisions we need to make for the future of Intuit, I know they come at an incredibly tough time for those who have been impacted. It is with a heavy heart that I communicate these changes, and I want to be very clear with everyone how we reached these decisions and what we’re doing to take care of our friends and co-workers who will be leaving the company.”
The rest of the statement can be found here.
Original post…
I just received a "Critical Alert" email from Quicken explaining that "As part of Quicken's separation from Intuit, we are moving from Intuit's authentication service to our secure, new Quicken service. A reminder that this 33-year-old company was bought from Intuit by its management team that used venture capital to fund the purchase.
What this means for employees is that the pressure to perform has been increased and the company will face some degree of uncertainty and new challenges as they attempt to retain their customer base while building out the brand.
For those who do not know the tale, it is another attempt to isolate and sideline desktop software packages and move everything into the cloud. Of course, this brings with it significant security issues of doing business on unknown servers, in unknown locations, and with unknown, and possibly foreign employees holding the "keys to the kingdom."
According to a Computerworld article ...
"Last summer, Intuit's CEO explained that Quicken, which unlike QuickBooks and TurboTax lacked a cloud-based service or subscription offer, was essentially a dead end for the company. 'Quicken is a desktop-centric business and it doesn't strengthen the small business or tax ecosystems,' said chief executive Brad Smith in a conference call with Wall Street last year. 'Our strategy is focused on building ecosystems and platforms in the cloud.'"
Are you asking yourself, Am I Next?