SAS Institute cuts jobs, employee reports, as Cary software firm again shrinks staff
SAS Institute, the analytic software giant based in Cary, cut multiple positions Thursday, a current employee confirmed to The News & Observer. It is the latest staff reductions at the 47-year-old company, following layoffs in 2021 and subsequent voluntary buyouts.
“Right now, everybody’s panicked,” said the employee, who lives in the Triangle and has been with the company for more than 20 years. “People think it’s not the last (cuts). They’re waiting for the next shoe to drop.”
The employee requested her name not be published out of concern for job security. She said most of the people affected by Thursday’s cuts worked in development. Multiple anonymous posts published Thursday on the online forum TheLayoff.com also said layoffs affected those working in research and development.
On Friday, SAS spokesperson Shannon Heath told The News & Observer the company has been “shifting some divisional structures to better align with our corporate priorities.” She said around 1% of the company’s total workforce is expected to be impacted this year.
SAS has not sent a companywide statement to staff addressing the latest position cuts, the veteran employee said.
According to Wake County Economic Development, SAS’s area workforce has dropped by more than 1,000 people in recent years. The most recent county data says SAS employed around 4,000 people in the Triangle.
“Over the years through natural attrition and conservative hiring, our headcount has gone down incrementally,” Heath told the N&O in February. “For example, in recent years (and in response to employee survey data), SAS has offered an opt-in Voluntary Retirement Benefit Program to employees who meet specific criteria.”
These staffing decisions come as SAS prepares to go public, with a stated goal of hitting the stock market sometime next year. James Goodnight, the company’s cofounder and CEO, is currently the wealthiest person in the state, according to Forbes.
Which major tech companies have laid off workers in the NC Triangle? Here’s the list.
Open Source
Do you enjoy Triangle tech news? Subscribe to Open Source, The News & Observer's weekly technology newsletter and look for it in your inbox every Friday morning. Sign up here.
