DocuSign is laying off hundreds of workers

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In a move to become more streamlined and efficient, DocuSign has confirmed plans to reduce its current workforce by around 6%, impacting around 440 jobs.

According to the esignature software company, the majority of the affected roles will belong to the Sales & Marketing organizations.

The news comes as the company estimates its Q4 and FY 2024 results might be higher than anticipated, hinting that execs have forecasted a less fruitful year ahead.

DocuSign layoffs

We’re only five weeks into 2024, and already more than 33,000 tech workers have been made redundant (via layoffs.fyi). While job losses haven’t reached the heights of 2023, the alarming trend continues, seemingly leaving most businesses worried about their finances.

Shares of DocuSign dropped by around 1% after the announcement, reflecting market reactions to the news.

With the restructuring plan in mind, DocuSign expects to incur charges of around $28 to $32 million to cover cash expenditures for employee transition, notice period and severance payments, employee benefits, and related costs, as well as non-cash expenses related to the vesting of share-based awards.

Most of these costs will be handled in the first quarter of the company’s Q1 2025, with the move completed by Q2.

In a related development, discussions between DocuSign and potential acquirers, Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman, have reportedly been put on pause after disagreements over pricing (via Reuters). The company has a market value of around $11 billion.

Other layoffs so far in February in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, where DocuSign is headquartered, have included Zoom (2%) and Okta (7%). Though DocuSign’s 6% reduction is merely moderate, and considerably less than the 10-15% reductions we were seeing in early 2023, it’s still a sizeable proportion of the company’s workforce and a clear response to challenging economic conditions.