Software company Autodesk is cutting around 1,000 positions, representing a 7% reduction in its global workforce.
The San Francisco company, which makes software used by architects, designers and engineers, told employees Thursday that “strategic changes,” including a focus on expanding its leadership in artificial intelligence, fueled its latest round of cuts.
Workers in “customer-facing sales” positions will be significantly impacted by the layoffs, and cost savings will be reinvested in company priorities through the fiscal year ending January 2027, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the rise of artificial intelligence capable of generating code, text and images has increased fears that the technology will displace workers, Autodesk Chief Executive Officer and President Andrew Anagnost told employees that was not the cause of the job cuts.
“I want to be clear that this will not become an annual process at Autodesk and that these changes are not driven by the external environment or an effort to replace people with AI,” he told employees in a statement. e-mail THURSDAY. “We remain firmly convinced that technology is only as powerful as the people who use it and that humans will always be the most important part of the equation. »
The company has changed the way its customers purchase and renew their software subscriptions, requiring them to pay Autodesk directly.
Autodesk declined to disclose the number of layoffs taking place in California. The company has offices outside the United States, including Europe and Asia.
The company plans to lay off about 104 employees at its San Francisco headquarters in April, according to a letter Thursday to the California Employment Development Department.
Autodesk is the latest California tech company to announce another round of massive cuts this year, even after already reducing its workforce in 2025. Last year, Autodesk said it would cut about 1,350 positions, or about 9% of its workforce, citing geopolitical and macroeconomic factors and its investments in AI.
Metathe parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is also reducing its workforce again and closing several content studios, as it focuses more on investing in wearable devices such as smart glasses. The layoffs affected more than 1,000 employees and focused largely on those who worked on the Metaverse, digital spaces where people socialize, work, learn and pursue other activities online.
In the third quarter ended October 2025, Autodesk’s revenue increased 18% to $1.85 billion. The company’s net income in this quarter was $343 million, up from $275 million.