Dear Colleagues,
For several months, the executive team has thoughtfully shaped our operating plan for 2023 and the years ahead. As everyone understands, Coupa faces a macro environment that’s shifted from “growth at all costs” to one that demands a balance between mature growth and profitability.
With that in mind, we’ve aligned on a company reset strategy to operate more efficiently while still delivering meaningful value and ensuring customer success. That includes greater alignment across business objectives, reducing duplication of effort, examining our real-estate footprint, and going forward with a smaller workforce.
These workforce choices are not made lightly, nor are the reductions performance-based. They are based on position overlap and duplication and in line with the company’s near-term business needs. Through this action, we will move forward with a leaner, flatter structure, with fewer layers and leaders closer to the business. We’re also taking steps to expand manager span of control, which should result in tighter organizational alignment, greater autonomy for teams, and faster decision making.
Some will ask why changes weren’t announced when the Thoma Bravo partnership was finalized in late February. The short answer: We aren’t doing this because of new ownership; we’re doing this to put Coupa on a stronger footing for long-term success. The team has worked thoughtfully to make the best decisions for the company, always guided by our core values.
Waiting to learn what this means for you is understandably stressful. To share information as quickly as possible, everyone impacted by the workforce reduction will receive an email from me within the next hour. However, because of local regulations, it will take additional time to notify and consult with impacted employees in certain countries (namely, Ireland, China, Denmark, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, Norway, the UAE, and the UK). If you do not receive this email in the next hour, then your role has not been impacted in this action.
Here’s what to expect:
Following that email notification, senior leaders will schedule 1:1 conversations as quickly as possible with impacted team members. In that conversation, we’ll share specifics on timing and support.
For the most part, those conversations should occur during the next two days. However, as noted above, in some countries the process will take longer because of local regulations.
Department leaders will bring their teams together next week to discuss the changes, and we’ll talk about it during our June 8 all-company meeting.
To those leaving Coupa, thank you for the work you’ve done on behalf of our company and our community. You’ve made a tremendous difference and will be missed.
To those continuing with us, we look forward to partnering with you in this next chapter for the company. We remain very optimistic about Coupa’s future and the opportunities we have to help organizations make every dollar matter.
- Charles
Charles Goodman
Interim CEO & Chairman of the Board