SAS confirms new round of layoffs as company restructures for possible IPO

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- SAS confirmed to ABC11 that it had laid off some employees Wednesday.

The layoffs come six months after another round of layoffs at the Cary-based software analytics company.

"As we have previously explained, we have been slowly shifting some divisional structures to better align with our corporate priorities. Evolving our organizational structure and aligning the right talent to our core focus areas is part of our normal business process and remains a priority for SAS," SAS Corporate PR Manager Shannon Health said.

The company declined to say exactly how many people were laid off in this latest round of cuts. The layoffs are said to be contained to the retail solutions division of the company. In fact, the company said it continues to hire other position in Cary and around the world.

NC State professor Ela Castellanos-Reyes said SAS appears to be pouring efforts into artificial intelligence technology, which could have a big impact even beyond the Triangle.

"I do think it's a big deal. Anything that can streamline our work every day - it's a big deal. It's transforming how we think of work and it will eventually transform how we think of education in the future," Castellanos-Reyes said.

SAS is one of the largest employers in the Triangle with thousands of employees.

These layoffs and restructuring plans come as the company looks into the possibility of going public sometime next year, according to our newsgathering partners at the News & Observer.

"SAS announced in 2021 its intention to pursue IPO-readiness. We continue to make great progress toward that goal. When we have achieved IPO-readiness, we will evaluate the market conditions to ensure it is the right environment for a public debut," Health said.

According to SAS's 2022-2023 annual report, the company brings in more than $3 billion in annual sales. As many as 90 percent of Fortune 100 companies or their affiliates are SAS customers.