Intuit Inc., the U.S.-based software giant, has reportedly started informing its employees about an upcoming layoff round which could reduce upto 3,000 jobs. Joining Big Tech firms like Meta and Coinbase, Intuit has also cited its plans to expand internal AI adoption as a reason to reduce its company’s headcount.
In an earnings call on Wednesday, Intuit said it clocked a 10 percent YoY increase between February and April this year — having roped-in a revenue of $8.54 billion within that time period.
In an internal memo shared with the teams, Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi said that the company is looking to simplify its structure and divert resources into its AI efforts.
“Scale our Al-native platform to deliver easy, done-for-you experiences. We have already built the foundation; now, we must accelerate delivering undisputed customer benefits with an unmatched combination of data, Al, and human expertise,” read Goodarzi’s memo, screenshots of which are now making the rounds on social media. The Coin Headlines could, however, not verify the legitimacy of the screenshots.
As observed with Meta, Intuit’s shares also registered quick dips after the company cited AI-related reasons to justify the mass layoffs. At the time of writing, the INTU shares were trading at $384 with a 3.7 percent fall.
As of now, neither Intuit nor Goodarzi have responded to the reports on public domains.
It is visibly clear that software firms are also making a drastic pivot towards AI-centric organizational structures and product priorities which is leaving the white collar work forces gaping in uncertainty.
Last year, Accenture fired 11,000 employees to adopt more AI-driven operational solutions. Cognizant recently made it to the headlines for planning to fire an estimate of 3,000 to 15,000 employees amid the ongoing AI influx that is shaping up the modern-day corporate restructuring. Earlier in March, Oracle let go off an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 of its team members.
In the midst of the wave of layoffs, Ripple founder Brad Garlinghouse had recent said that AI should not be the reason why humans lose jobs. He had explicitly stated that Ripple plans to integrate AI with its human workforce to strike a balance between advanced technology and the human minds that developed technologies like AI.
Along with the AI shift, the recent market downtrends also seem to be impacting corporate spending limits leading them to cut costs. However, dipped risk appetite and the will to save more on the balance sheets are not coming up as reasons resulting in the layoffs.
Global stocks reportedly fell by $12 trillion in March, marking the largest single-month decline in dollar terms on record. Several factors contributed to this market slippage including the Iran-Israel-U.S. conflict that remained at peak in the Middle East, the subsequent volatility in gold and oil prices, and international trade wars.