Cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike said on Wednesday that it would lay off 5% of its global workforce, which amounts to about 500 workers.
In an 8-K filing, CrowdStrike said the layoffs were part of a “a strategic plan (the ‘Plan’) to evolve its operations to yield greater efficiencies as the Company continues to scale its business with focus and discipline to meet its goal of $10 billion in ending [Annual Recurring Revenue].”
The company also said it was planning to “to hire in key strategic areas throughout its fiscal year ending January 31, 2026.”
“These changes position us to move faster, operate more efficiently, and continue our cybersecurity leadership,” company CEO George Kurtz said in a letter to employees, according to The Wall Street Journal.
On Sunday, CrowdStrike said in a press release that last year, it delivered a “record full year operating cash flow of $1.38 billion and record full year free cash flow of $1.07 billion.”
Last year, Kurtz made a total of more than $46 million, according to the AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions in the United States.
CrowdStrike became a household name in 2016 when it investigated the Democratic National Committee hack and attributed it to the Russian government. Last summer, the company made headlines for the wrong reasons — a faulty update to its software impacted 8.5 million Windows devices around the world and caused a massive outage all over the world, forcing airports to shut down and hindering airlines, banks, hotels, and other kinds of businesses.
