San Francisco-based e-signature giant DocuSign Inc. (Nasdaq: DOCU) said Tuesday it is laying off about 6% of its staff, or roughly 400 employees.
According to multiple posts on LinkedIn, employees based in the Seattle area are among those affected by the layoffs.
In a note to employees, DocuSign CEO Allan Thygesen called the layoffs "a painful decision."
"I still believe we have a strong opportunity ahead of us as an independent, public company, but it will be a multi-year journey to realize our vision for the future of DocuSign and our growth aspirations," Thygesen said in the note. "This reality makes it critical for us to manage our business to improve profitability and focus investment on initiatives that provide the strongest foundation for long-term growth."
DocuSign expects to incur roughly $28 million to $32 million in restructuring charges, including severance payments, benefits and other costs. The company expects to take on most of these costs during the first quarter of fiscal 2025.
Thygesen said in the note he asked senior leaders to cut costs in other ways before resorting to layoffs. Impacted employees, who were mostly in sales and marketing, will get at least 12 weeks of severance, as well as health care, career assistance and stock benefits.
DocuSign, the namesake of the tower at 999 Third Ave. in downtown Seattle, laid off roughly 9% of its workforce in September 2022 and another 10% in February of last year.
DocuSign was founded 20 years ago in Seattle. The company allows clients to sign and manage agreements electronically. Its clients include Unilever and United Airlines. In DocuSign's third quarter fiscal year 2024 financial results, released in December, the company said it generated $700.4 million in revenue during the quarter, up 9% year over year.
The company in January 2020 received the naming rights for the office building now known as DocuSign Tower. At the time, DocuSign said it had 227,000 square feet in the building and more than 1,200 employees in Seattle.
