DocuSign Stock Falls Amid Third Round of Layoffs in Two Years

Shares of DocuSign Inc. (DOCU) slid in intraday trading Tuesday after the e-signature software maker said it would cut 6% of its workforce. 

DocuSign said the majority of the cuts would hit its sales and marketing departments. It also estimated that it would incur $28 million to $32 million in one-time restructuring charges, the majority of which would be booked in the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year.

The layoff announcement comes just one day after Reuters reported that DocuSign’s takeover talks with private equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman had stalled.

The layoffs announced Tuesday are DocuSign’s third round in the past year and a half. The company cut 9% of its workforce in September 2022 as growth slowed after a pandemic boom. Then in February 2023, it announced it would lay off an additional 10% of employees to further cut costs. 

Tech companies of all sizes went on a hiring spree during the pandemic as lockdowns boosted demand for digital products and services. And they’ve spent the last two years attempting to “right-size” by laying off staff by the thousands, even as enthusiasm about artificial intelligence (AI) has boosted optimism. PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) are among the firms that already have cut jobs this year.

DocuSign shares were down 3.2% at $51.51 as of 2:22 p.m. ET on Tuesday. They have lost nearly 10% of their value since the start of the year..