Electronic signature and agreement cloud company DocuSign Inc. today
announced it’s laying off about 9% of its workforce to support its growth
and profitability objectives and to improve its operating margin. CNBC
reported that as of January, DocuSign had 7,651 employees. The cuts
are expected to be completed by the end of the company’s fiscal year
2023 next March 31. Investors liked the news. DocuSign’s share price rose
more than 5% today. The layoffs come nearly a week after DocuSign’s
board announced that Allan Thygesen was the company’s new chief
executive officer. Thygesen previously held the role of president of Americas
and Global Partners at Google LLC, where he led Google’s $100 billion
advertising business in North and South America. Previously, Thygesen
was president of Google Marketing Solutions. According to a filing with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, DocuSign’s restructuring is
expected to incur charges of between $30 million and $40 million in the third
and fourth quarters of fiscal 2023 from employee transactions, severance
payments and benefits. Despite enjoying strong results through the COVID-19
pandemic, shares in DocuSign had dropped 65% this year as the pandemic
passed and interest in its services died down. The news that DocuSign is
laying off staff comes a day after Lyft Inc. was reported to be freezing hiring
amid uncertain economic conditions and rising inflation, after cutting 60 jobs
in its rental division in July. The decisions by DocuSign to lay off staff and Lyft
to pause hiring come amid hiring freezes and layoffs in the broader tech sector.