Business and financial software company Intuit Inc. today announced that it’s laying off 1,800 employees, about 10% of its workforce, as it looks to focus more on artificial intelligence — but it plans to rehire 1,800 new people in engineering, product and customer-facing roles.

In a note to employees, Intuit Chief Executive Officer Sasan Goodarzi said that the decision to lay off 1,800 from the company’s workforce was extremely painful and that the company deeply understands the impact of the decision on “friends and colleagues who will be leaving.”

Goodarzi noted that the decision to lay off staff was not the result of any desire to cut costs but to free up funds to allocate additional investments in critical areas in support of customers and drive growth. This includes hiring approximately 1,800 new people, primarily in engineering, product and customer-facing roles such as sales, customer success, and marketing.

Exactly when the new positions will be hired was not specified. Goodarzi did, however, say that Intuit expects its overall headcount to grow starting from the company’s 2025 fiscal year, which starts Aug 1.

The savings from the layoffs will also be used to make further investments in what Intuit calls its “Big Bets.”

Big Bet 1, “Revolutionize Speed to Benefit,” involves Intuit’s generative AI-powered financial assistant, Intuit Assist, combined with its network of experts, enabling seamless “done-for-you” experiences with access to human expertise. To deliver this, Intuit plans to invest heavily in data and AI, leveraging “GenOS” to transform its products from traditional workflows to AI-native experiences that save time and increase customer savings.

Intuit is focusing on its AI-driven expert platform for Big Bet 2, “Connecting People to Experts,” by increasing investments in data and AI to enhance real-time customer-expert connections and bolstering its teams with AI-augmented talent and digital marketing professionals. The company is also accelerating investments in its fintech platform, mid-market solutions and international growth.

The layoffs from Intuit, albeit with plans to replace the laid-off staff, come during a year that has seen companies big and small furlough staff as ongoing macroeconomic headwinds cause issues for tech companies, particularly when it comes to raising fresh capital.

Layoffs this month so far include Microsoft Corp., which reportedly cut staff across multiple teams and geographies on July 4, although exactly how many employees were affected was unclear. On July 9, robotic process automation software provider UiPath Inc. announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce, or around 420 employees, in a bid to increase operational efficiency.

Photo: Intuit