PYMNTS MonitorEdge May 2024

UiPath Announces 10% Cut in Staff to Reduce Costs

UiPath

UiPath, a provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered enterprise automation technology, said Tuesday (July 9) that it will lay off 10% of its global workforce as part of a restructuring aimed at managing its operating expenses.

The firm employed about 4,200 people worldwide as of July 1, UiPath said in a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that disclosed the layoffs.

“This workforce reduction is aimed at further driving operational efficiency and customer centricity,” the company said in the filing. “These changes reflect efforts to reshape the organization by streamlining the company’s structure, particularly in operational and corporate functions, better prioritizing our go-to-market investments and focusing our research and development investments on artificial intelligence and driving innovation across our platform.”

UiPath shares have lost more than half their value this year, at a time when the Nasdaq is up 23%, CNBC reported Tuesday.

In the time since its 2021 initial public offering (IPO) that was one of the largest U.S. software offerings ever, the company has seen its revenue growth slow, according to the report.

UiPath reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings in May but lowered its guidance for the full year, the report said. It now forecasts annual growth of about 7.5%, which would be down from the prior year’s 24%, per the report.

The company said in a May 29 press release that Rob Enslin was resigning as CEO and a member of the board of directors on June 1, and that UiPath’s founder and former CEO Daniel Dines would be reappointed CEO on that date.

“I thank Rob for his contributions to UiPath during the past two years, during which he played a significant role in the company’s growth,” Dines said in the release. “With this change, I’m excited to step back into the CEO role and I am looking forward to leading the company through our next phase of profitable growth and innovation.”

At the time of its 2021 IPO, which valued the company at $36 billion, it was reported that UiPath’s digital transformation technology was initially applied to back-office tasks but later added front-office areas for its bots.