Nearly one in ten employees will lose their job in layoffs at Austin-based National Instruments, as the company seeks to trim costs in the face of pandemic-related economic uncertainty.
National Instruments produces hardware and software automated testing systems used in manufacturing, telecommunications, and medicine. As reported by Honest Austin in June, the company has been hurt by a slowdown in the industrial economy.
Founded in 1976 in Austin, National Instruments recently rebranded as “NI.”
CEO Eric Starkloff told staff in a letter Thursday that the firm would cut its worldwide staff by 9%. That’s about 660 jobs, judging by the company’s 2019 year-end headcount of about 7,300.
However, Starkloff didn’t detail the exact number of staff to be laid off, nor how many of those positions are in Austin. In an investor conference call Thursday, he said that sales staff and administrative staff would be most affected.
The company is the fifth largest Austin public company by revenue, and one of the largest by headcount.
Affected employees in Austin will be notified by November 6 at the latest, the CEO said. They will be paid through the end of this year, and will receive severance and a supplemental payout.
National Instruments’ third-quarter revenue was $308 million, down 9% from a year ago.
Remedy Lays Off 82
Austin’s startup and tech scene has been more insulated from the economic downturn than hard-hit sectors like retail and entertainment. But increasingly tech firms are freezing hiring or laying off staff, including Remedy Applications.
According to an Oct. 22 filed with the Texas Workforce Commission, Remedy plans to “cease operations in one or more of its operating units” in Austin and lay off 82 workers.
Remedy operates a digital platform to facilitate doctor house calls and telemedicine appointments, while also running a walk-in clinic inside a downtown Whole Foods.
The firm’s Chief Marketing Officer Keith Munro told the Austin Business Journal in an October 27 email, “We had a staff reduction this past week, many of whom were recent hires that had been added during the peak of the COVID-19 volumes during the summer.”
He asserted that the layoffs do “not reflect a problem with our core business.” Munro wouldn’t tell ABJ how many employees the company employs after the layoffs.
Sears Call Center
According to another recent WARN notice, a Round Rock-based call center will close and lay off 170 employees.
The call center was run by a SEARS contractor, Transform SR LLC. SEARS went bankrupt two years ago, at which time it had 700 U.S. stores. The company exited bankruptcy in February 2019 with about 400 stores, but the coronavirus pandemic has again put it at risk.
The call center operators said in the layoff notice that the layoffs would start about December 12. It disclosed that some of the employees already have been placed on paid administrative leave, starting October 13.
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