JANUARY 28, 2026 — 1,000 ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES
The company has announced a 7% reduction in force, approximately 1,000 employees, in the second such round of layoffs in less than a year.
From CEO Andrew Anagnost…
All,
Today we are announcing enterprise-wide organizational changes as part of entering the next phase of our strategy. We are making the difficult decision to reduce the size of Autodesk’s workforce by approximately 7% globally (around 1,000 roles), with most of the impact in our customer-facing sales teams. The primary driver of today’s action is the completion of our multi-year go-to-market (GTM) transformation.
Why we are doing this
Last year we shared that we were beginning a two-year journey to modernize our GTM organization. The majority of today’s action is focused on completing the final phase of that journey. Additionally, we are making smaller, targeted adjustments to further align our organization with the opportunities ahead. In priority order, this reduction is driven by three key strategic shifts:
Completing our GTM transformation: Over the past several years, we’ve modernized our go-to-market model, simplifying how customers engage with us, and intentionally built a foundation aligned with where the industry is heading. With this action, the sales optimization phase is now essentially complete, and we have a stronger, more efficient foundation to support our next chapter of growth.
Expanding our AI, platform, and industry cloud leadership: We’ve built a strong foundation across our industry cloud, platform, and AI, positioning Autodesk to deliver more connected, intelligent, and valuable solutions. As we move into the next phase of executing our strategy, we’re reinvesting in and scaling these capabilities to unlock greater customer value and support long-term growth.
Strengthening our corporate functions: As the business environment evolves, corporate functions are essential to Autodesk’s continued strength. We’re realigning our investments to ensure these teams remain resilient, modern, and scalable as they support transformation across the business.
I recognize the weight of this news, particularly as it follows the organizational changes we made last year. I want to be clear that this will not become an annual process at Autodesk and these changes are not driven by the external environment or an effort to replace people with AI. We remain steadfast in our belief that technology is only as powerful as the people who use it and humans will always be the most important part of the equation. This announcement reflects a deliberate decision by leadership to align our organization with our long-term strategy and the opportunities ahead.
A note of thanks
To our team members who are impacted, I want to extend my sincere appreciation for your contributions to Autodesk. Many of you have been instrumental in the transformation journey that brought us to where we are today. You have built the foundation of this company and will always be a part of Autodesk’s story.
What to expect next
Autodesk will immediately begin the process of informing employees whose roles may be impacted. These conversations will take place beginning January 22. Employees whose role may be impacted will hear directly from a leader in their management chain, though timing and approach will vary by country. In a few countries, this is a consultative process which will be conducted in accordance with local laws, with decisions finalized once the process has concluded.
We are committed to treating impacted employees with care, respect, and transparency. Autodesk will support any exiting employees throughout this process with severance, benefits continuation, and career transition assistance, where applicable.
Looking forward
To the team taking us forward, saying goodbye to colleagues while also supporting the company’s evolution is incredibly difficult. I recognize the uncertainty this brings, but these choices are essential to our readiness to lead the next era of Design and Make.
I am confident in our strategy and in the people of Autodesk who will bring it to life. As I said at Investor Day, our best days and biggest growth opportunities are ahead of us. And I’ve never been more confident in the long-term value we are creating, for our customers and for the industries that shape the world.
Thank you for your continued dedication to our mission and to each other.
Andrew
MARCH 3, 2025 — 1,350 EMPLOYEES TARGETED
As part of a worldwide restructuring plan, the company announced a 9% reduction in its workforce or approximately 1,350 employees.
According to President and CEO Andrew Anagnost, “We are reallocating internal resources toward these critical areas and beginning the optimization of our go-to-market functions to better meet the evolving needs of our customers and channel partners.”
Following a review of its business, on February 27, 2025, the Company announced a world-wide restructuring plan (2026 Plan) that includes a reduction in force that will result in the termination of approximately 9% of the Company’s workforce, or approximately 1,350 employees, other exit costs, and facility reductions. The Company anticipates incurring total pre-tax restructuring charges of approximately $135 million to $150 million, a substantial majority of which would result in cash expenditures. The Company expects to complete the 2026 Plan by the end of its fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (ending January 31, 2026), subject to local law and consultation requirements. Under the 2026 Plan, the Company recorded restructuring charges of $15 million for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2025.
The Company is taking these actions to support the Company's initiatives to optimize its go-to-market organization and, at the same time, to reallocate resources to the Company’s strategic priorities of investments in cloud, platform and artificial intelligence. With this restructuring plan, the Company is realigning roles to optimize talent investments and to distribute critical expertise globally. Although the Company is reducing its overall staffing levels in the near term, the Company plans to invest in key development areas and strategic opportunities.
FEBRUARY 3, 2023 — 250 JOB CUTS
The company has announced targeting 250 employees, approximately under 2% of its global workforce.
According to a company spokesperson, “the layoffs are part of Autodesk’s plans for its 2024 fiscal year, which began this week. As part of those plans, we’re focused on ensuring that our resources remain well-aligned to support our key priorities for the coming year. As part of this process, we made the difficult decision to eliminate these roles, comprising less than 2 percent of Autodesk’s total global workforce.
“Autodesk is dedicated to supporting impacted employees with severance, assistance in finding alternative jobs inside of Autodesk, and providing career services that will connect them to the resources, information, and people they need to pursue new career opportunities.”
NOVEMBER 30, 2017 — Original post...
Autodesk, the software company that pioneered the automation of architectural and engineering drafting with their CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing) software, has announced that the California-based company is laying off approximately 1,200 employees in a planned restructuring.
Like most software companies, they are reorganizing the company as they transition from desktop-based perpetually-licensed software to cloud-based subscription models.
Of course, shifting to a cloud-based system impacts revenues as up-front larger payments are transitioned to lower initial subscription costs and the spread-out of licensing revenues which replace annual maintenance agreements. So it should come as no surprise to see a reduction in force to maintain margins, earnings-per-share, and to reduce the run rate.
The company’s announcement, written in corporate-speak, is fairly normal for this type of restructuring.
“Autodesk today announced a restructuring plan to focus on the company's strategic priorities of completing the subscription transition; digitizing the company; and re-imagining manufacturing, construction, and production. Through the restructuring, Autodesk seeks to streamline the organization and re-balance resources to better align with the company’s priorities. By realigning its investments, Autodesk is positioning itself to meet its long-term goals, including keeping non-GAAP spend flat in fiscal 2019.”
“Autodesk plans to reduce staffing levels in the near term by approximately 13%, or approximately 1,150 positions, and to consolidate certain leased facilities. The company anticipates taking a pre-tax restructuring charge in the range of $135 million to $149 million. Approximately $91 million to $100 million in pre-tax charges will be taken in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. The remaining charge will be taken in fiscal 2019.”
“Autodesk is undergoing a business model transition in which it has discontinued most new perpetual license sales in favor of subscriptions and flexible license arrangements. As part of this transition, Autodesk discontinued new maintenance agreement sales for most individual products at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 and for suites at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2017. During the transition, revenue, margins, EPS, deferred revenue, and cash flow from operations will be impacted as more revenue is recognized pro-ratably rather than upfront and as new product offerings generally have a lower initial purchase price. The company has introduced new metrics to help investors understand its financial performance during and after the transition, as shown below.”
This should serve as a red-flag warning to companies that depend heavily on the declining desktop model.
For individuals looking to purchase used ‘industrial-strength” computers, bargains in refurbished models abound. It is often cheaper to purchase a used computer than replace a failing disk. I never thought I would see industrial-strength networked printers priced lower than their respective toner cartridges.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
