Intuit has confirmed to TechCrunch that it has laid off 399 people, or just under 5 percent of the company’s roughly 8,000 employees, in a re-alignment of the company. Patrick Barry has also stepped back from leading Demandforce, though he remains an employee of Intuit.
We had heard a few stories about layoffs within the company over the past few days. Of course, layoffs and re-organizations are not uncommon, as even large technology companies look to refine their businesses and focus on the products that are most successful — and not necessarily a signal that the company may be in bad shape. In the past year, Intuit’s stock has risen more than 28 percent, and the company is currently worth more than $28 billion based on its market cap.
“Over the last few days we’ve communicated organizational changes that drive greater alignment with the company’s priorities,” a spokesperson for Intuit told TechCrunch. “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.”
Intuit is best known for its tax preparation services like TurboTax and financial services like QuickBooks. We haven’t heard much on the product front from Intuit lately, but in January the company partnered with Uber and Stripe to help those on-demand workers keep track of their finances. The tools help workers quickly figure out what their tax bills and write-offs will be for work-related expenses.
In January, Intuit also bought ZeroPaper, a startup that offers online accounting services for small businesses, as it began to take an interest in Brazil. It also bought a payroll services startup Acrede in December this year.