Avaya has confirmed a new round of layoffs in a statement to CX Today.
In doing so, the vendor noted that approximately 180 jobs have been scrapped, representing three percent of its workforce.
Steve Forcum, the former Director of Solution Marketing at Avaya, shared his shock at the reports last night, noting that many affected employees work on crucial company accounts.
“Some of the names impacted today truly boggle the mind, including a couple of incredible technical pre-sales specialists, consultants, and architects who were supporting a veritable who’s who of Fortune 100 accounts,” he posted on LinkedIn.
Retaining those Fortune 100 accounts is mission-critical for Avaya as it bounces back from two bankruptcies in five years. So, this revelation is indeed a surprise.
However, Avaya rushed to assure customers that the move is part of a larger restructure that aims to ultimately bolster its enterprise support services.
A company spokesperson told CX Today: “Avaya has implemented organizational changes within our Go-to-customer function as part of our strategic plan for innovation and growth, and to continue to firmly position the company as the global leader in Enterprise CX for years to come.
The changes align our sales operations and resources to position Avaya to better support large enterprise and government clients and meet their more complex needs.
Additionally, the spokesperson confirmed that the layoffs started in June, in line with the formation of its new Americas, EMEA, and APAC theaters.
With these theaters, Avaya aims to focus its support services across critical locations, increase its speed to execution, and “get even closer” to local needs.
Alongside the go-to-customer restructure, Avaya made “related operational changes” to align its sales, services, and engineering teams.
“We are positioning the business for success, reinvestment, and growth,” summarized the Avaya spokesperson.
Avaya: “Other Positions Are Being Created”
Despite the layoffs, Avaya plans to ramp up its recruitment and bring new skill sets into its business. Indeed, the spokesperson stated:
Other positions are being created that may be filled by additions to our team who bring differentiated skillsets and expertise, consistent with our transformation as a leader in enterprise CX.
Avaya didn’t provide any additional information as to what these new roles might look like. Nevertheless, in an exclusive interview with CX Today earlier this month, incoming CEO Patrick Dennis stated his desire to accelerate the business’s innovation cycle.
Given Avaya’s recent innovation and Dennis’s recent experience, that cycle may include further forays into voice, journey orchestration, cybersecurity, and – of course – AI innovation.
Bringing in the necessary expertise here is likely critical. However, Avaya noted that any change in its strategy won’t be at the expense of its partner and customer support services.
The spokesperson concluded: “These changes enable us to best support our key customers and partners, which means everyone is positioned to achieve their goals.
“We have clear roles, reduced complexity, and a path to driving new sales within and outside our customer base.
“Ultimately, this sets our team and the entire company up for growth, and for driving greater success for our customers and our partners.”
Nevertheless, the news makes for a dispiriting end to Masarek’s CEO tenure, which he ends as he started: with a round of layoffs.
It’s somewhat surprising, too, as Avaya is reportedly exceeding revenue expectations.
Some may argue that this has always been part of the plan, as the departing CEO brings his eight-quarter transformation to a close.
Yet, that will come as little comfort to those departing employees who have been on that rollercoaster journey with him.