Software company Autodesk is slashing roughly 1,000 roles, representing a 7% cut of its global workforce.
The San Francisco company, which makes software used by architects, designers and engineers, told its employees Thursday that “strategic shifts,” including its focus on expanding its leadership in artificial intelligence, fueled its latest round of cuts.
Workers in “customer-facing sales” roles will be significantly affected by the layoffs, and the cost savings will be reinvested in the company’s priorities through the fiscal year ending January 2027, the company said in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the rise of artificial intelligence that can generate code, text and images has heightened fears that technology will displace workers, Autodesk Chief Executive and President Andrew Anagnost told employees that isn’t what is driving the cuts.
“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,” he told employees in an e-mail on Thursday. “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.”
The company changed how customers purchase and renew its software subscriptions, asking them to pay Autodesk directly.
Autodesk declined to share how many of the layoffs are happening in California. The company has offices outside of the United States, including in Europe and Asia.
The company plans to lay off roughly 104 employees at its San Francisco headquarters in April, according to a Thursday letter to the California Employment Development Department.
Autodesk is the latest California tech company this year to announce another massive round of cuts, even after already shrinking its workforce in 2025. Last year, Autodesk said it would cut roughly 1,350 positions, or roughly 9% of its workforce, citing geopolitical and macroeconomic factors and its AI investments.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is also slashing its workforce again and closing several content studios as it focuses more heavily on investing in wearables such as smartglasses. The layoffs hit more than 1,000 employees and focused heavily on those who were working on the metaverse, digital spaces where people socialize, work, learn and pursue other online activities.
In the third quarter ending in October 2025, Autodesk’s revenue increased 18% to $1.85 billion. The company’s net income during that quarter was $343 million, up from $275 million.
