Financial software company Intuit is eliminating 277 positions in San Diego as part of a companywide restructuring that will cut nearly 3,000 jobs, or 17% of its workforce, to redirect spending toward artificial intelligence development.

CEO Sasan Goodarzi told employees the cuts are part of a “new chapter of growth” that will bolster the company’s AI-driven strategy. “We need to move with far greater velocity, urgency and discipline,” Goodarzi said in a memo. The restructuring will require a $300 million to $340 million write-off, most of which will be booked in the current quarter.

The layoffs are concentrated in engineering, product, marketing, and technical management roles, with many senior software engineers, product managers, and marketing leaders affected. The cuts extend deep into leadership, including vice presidents, directors, and principal-level employees.

The restructuring reflects a broader trend across the software industry that observers have dubbed the “SaaS-pocalypse.” As AI agents become capable of writing code and automating workflows, software companies are caught in a vicious cycle, according to Alap Shah, co-founder of AI company Littlebird. “The companies most threatened by AI become AI’s most aggressive adopters,” he said. “Software companies were being disrupted by better workflow automation, and their response was to cut head count and use the savings to fund the very technology disrupting it.”

For San Diego, where Intuit employs hundreds at its Del Mar Heights campus, the layoffs are a significant blow to the local tech workforce. The company’s San Diego-based consumer segment, which includes TurboTax, contributed $5.3 billion in revenue last quarter, making it Intuit’s largest revenue source.

Despite the cuts, Intuit reported strong financial results, with $8.6 billion in revenue in its fiscal third quarter, up 10% year over year, and operating income of $4 billion, up 8%. The company’s stock, however, has fallen nearly 43% this year, reflecting investor concerns about AI disruption to its core tax and financial software business.

Impacted employees will receive 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks per year of tenure, with a final departure date of July 31, 2026, according to a state WARN notice.

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | Business of San Diego