AutoDesk to Cut 7% of Workers

Autodesk is a name that you probably don’t know much about, unless you happen to be into graphic design or drafting  that is. For those of you who are not familiar with the company here is a look at how the company chooses to describe itself, “Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries—including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects—use Autodesk software to design, visualize, and simulate their ideas before they’re ever built or created. From blockbuster visual effects and buildings that create their own energy to electric cars and the batteries that power them, the work of our 3D software customers is everywhere you look….Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art 3D software for global markets.”

The company is getting ready to cut back on about seven percent of its workforce in a bid to decrease its costs. For those of you interested that means the loss of about 500 jobs when all is said and done. While the job cuts are rumored to be coming from multiple locations the company is likely to trigger at least one mass layoff action. For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of a mass layoff action here is a look at how the federal government defines the term, “The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program collects reports on mass layoff actions that result in workers being separated from their jobs. Monthly mass layoff numbers are from establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) filed against them during a 5-week period. Extended mass layoff numbers (issued quarterly) are from a subset of such establishments—where private sector nonfarm employers indicate that 50 or more workers were separated from their jobs for at least 31 days.”

The company’s latest press release however was not about the loss of more than 500 jobs, but instead was bout the creation of animated ones in India, “Indian animation and visual effects powerhouse Visual Computing Labs (VCL), a division of Tata Elxsi Ltd., leveraged Digital Entertainment Creation software from Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) to produce its second mainstream animated Bollywood film — “Arjun: The Warrior Prince”. A joint collaboration between Disney and UTV Pictures, the film was directed by Arnab Chaudhuri. “With a powerful, efficient solution like Maya at the core of our pipeline, we were able to complete this rich, large-scale, action-oriented film in record time.” Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max modeling, animation and rendering software products played an integral role in shaping artful backdrops and character animations that contribute to the overall aesthetic of the film. Autodesk Flame software was utilized for creative finishing and color grading.”

The company did release fiscal report on conference call set for this week but the company has not made results public with a release. Second hand reports on the call have said that the fiscals were not encouraging.