Digital design giant Autodesk laid off 7% of its workforce Thursday, sources tell Mashable.
That totals around 500 employees — including a number of 3D developers and several product managers.
Many of the layoffs were handled on a one-by-one basis throughout the day, following the company’s disappointing earnings report.
“Our own execution challenges, combined with an uneven global economy, resulted in disappointing revenue results for the quarter,” said Carl Bass, Autodesk president and CEO. “The changes better position Autodesk to meet the needs of our customers. We are focused on working through our internal challenges as rapidly as possible.”
Autodesk’s fiscal second-quarter profits fell 9.3%.
An Autodesk representative tell us that while the company eliminated close to 500 positions Thursday, it plans to create that many new jobs over the course of the year.
“As part of today’s announcement, Autodesk shared plans for a restructuring related to executing on the company’s strategy including its continuing shift to cloud and mobile computing, “ the company said in a statement.
”While Autodesk is reducing its overall staffing levels in the near-term, the company will continue to invest in key development areas. In addition, the company intends to consolidate certain leased facilities.”
The restructuring is focused primarily of the company’s shift to cloud and mobile computing.
“This action allows us to continue to invest in recruiting and hiring people who can bring Autodesk the skills and experience that are critical for achieving our mid and long-term goals, says Bass. “As part of the ongoing platform shift, it’s clear to us that design and engineering software will move to cloud and mobile platforms. Cloud and mobile has been a major investment area for Autodesk over the past couple of years and this restructuring will accelerate our progress as we intend to further invest in employees with expertise and skill sets essential to this transition.
“Additionally, this restructuring helps us reduce costs and streamline the organization as a continuation of the activities we began earlier this year.”