Intuit Shifts Strategy And Lays Off Nearly 400

Intuit, the financial and tax preparation software company, has laid off 399 staffers, or roughly 5 percent of its 8,000-employee roster, in a far-reaching reorganization of the company, TechCrunch reported Friday (June 26).

Alongside the layoffs, Patrick Barry has also “stepped back” as head of Demandforce, Intuit’s marketing and communications software, though TechCrunch noted he still is with Intuit. Intuit bought Demandforce in 2012.

“Over the last few days we’ve communicated organizational changes that drive greater alignment with the company’s priorities,” an Intuit spokesperson told TechCrunch in an interview. “These changes unfortunately did affect 399 employees overall. All will receive separation packages and assistance with career assistance from Intuit and are eligible to look for another position with the company.”

TechCrunch noted that layoffs have been a recent event within the technology sector, even as bigger companies “look to refine their businesses and focus on the products that are most successful” and posited that such realignments are not “necessarily a signal that the company may be in bad shape.” Indeed, the company’s common shares have risen by roughly 28 percent in the past year, and the market cap is now just under $30 billion. In a sign of optimism from Wall Street, sales growth is expected to return to the company over the near term, rising as much as 14 percent in the fiscal year scheduled to end in July 2016, to just over $5 billion.

Earlier this year, in January, Intuit said it had partnered with both Uber and Stripe to help on-demand workers keep track of their finances. Also in that month, Intuit bought ZeroPaper, which sells online accounting services geared to small businesses. The deal marked Intuit’s first acquisition in Brazil, and at the time of acquisition, ZeroPaper said it had more than 450,000 customers using its cloud-based offerings.

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