Autodesk, Inc. announced a restructuring plan that will accelerate the move to the cloud and its transition to a subscription-based business model. Through the restructuring, Autodesk seeks to reduce expenses, streamline the organization, and reallocate resources to align more closely with the company’s needs going forward.
“As we progress through our business model transition, we continue to take a comprehensive look at our company to see where we can be more effective and efficient. To realize maximum value for both our customers and shareholders, and as a follow-on to previously discussed cost reduction actions, we are restructuring so we can focus resources on areas that will accelerate the move to the cloud and transition to a subscription-based business,” said Carl Bass, Autodesk President and CEO.
Autodesk plans to reduce staffing levels in the near-term by approximately 10%, or approximately 925 positions, and to consolidate certain leased facilities. Autodesk expects these actions will result in additional cost savings in fiscal 2017 and beyond, while reinvesting a portion of the savings in areas critical to its platform and business model transition. The company anticipates taking pre-tax charges of $85 million to $95 million in connection with the restructuring.
Autodesk also expects to be at the high end or exceed its guidance ranges for billings, revenue, non-GAAP EPS, and net subscription additions for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.
Bass continued, “To be clear, the restructuring announced today is not related to anything we are seeing in the macro-economic environment. We ended fiscal 2016 on a high note with very strong fourth-quarter billings growth and continued demand for our subscription offerings. Solid revenues, coupled with continued cost-controls, led to better than expected non-GAAP EPS during the quarter. I’m pleased we were able to deliver these results at such a critical moment in Autodesk’s transition.”
Additional details regarding the company’s fourth quarter financial results and restructuring plan will be provided on the company’s regularly scheduled earnings conference call to be held on February 25, 2016.
Autodesk will host its fourth quarter conference call on February 25th at 5:00 p.m. ET. The live broadcast can be accessed athttp://www.autodesk.com/investors. Supplemental financial information and prepared remarks for the conference call will be posted to the investor relations section of Autodesk's website simultaneously with this press release.
