Qualtrics announced that it is cutting approximately 780 jobs - about 14% of its workforce of around 5,000 - as the company moves forward with restructuring under new private ownership.
In addition to the layoffs, the company plans to reshuffle several hundred other positions, according to Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin's email to all employees Wednesday morning.
Serafin cited "rapid hiring" as one of the causes of "complexity that does not support [the company's] continued growth." In the post, Serafin also wrote that the decision to reduce staff was “painful” but “also necessary.”
"The changes we’re making—which touch every team at the company—are necessary for us to capture the massive opportunity in front of us given our significant market momentum and the mission-critical nature of our XM platform. To get here, we conducted a deep review of every function in the company," wrote Serafin.
According to several sources, the layoffs affect sales, DEI, and the engineering departments. Departing employees based in the US will be eligible to receive a minimum of 10 weeks of severance based on tenure and level, as well as health insurance, Q4 performance and unpaid bonuses.
Back in 2019, SAP acquired Qualtrics for $8 billion. However, the company spun out of SAP two years later and raised $1.5 billion in an initial public offering.
Earlier this year, Qualtrics was acquired by Silver Lake in a $12.5 billion deal. In the first quarter — the last time Qualtrics publicly reported financials — Qualtrics reported $409.8 million in revenue, up 22% year-over-year.
