Financial software company Intuit, developer of tax preparation application TurboTax, announced it will lay off 1,800 employees as part of its Artificial Intelligence push. The company also plans to close two of its worksites in North America; a site in Edmonton, Canada, and a site in Boise, Idaho.
The layoffs are not a part of the cost-cut strategy, as Intuit says it plans to make substantial investments toward making accounting and tax preparation tools that use generative AI.
The company also plans to expand into new markets and make new hires. Its headcount is expected to increase in 2025 and beyond, with the new hiring cycle focusing on “engineering, product, and customer-facing roles.”
“Intuit is in a position of strength; we have the strategy and momentum that we need to succeed,” Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi said in a note sent to employees. “To fulfill our mission to power the prosperity of our customers around the world and strengthen our leadership position, we must accelerate our innovation and investments in the areas that are most important to our future success.”
While Intuit seems to be optimistic about the moves, the investors are not. The company’s stock plunged by 2.57% after the announcement was made. The shares of Intuit are 4.82% up year-to-date.