Narayen: The 2009 recession caused sharp revenue drops and layoffs at Adobe
Shantanu Narayen · How Adobe is leveraging AI (with CEO & Chair Shantanu Narayen) | Masters of Scale · Feb 28, 2025 · at 9:09
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen explains to Reid Hoffman how the 2009 recession exposed the vulnerabilities of perpetual software sales and prompted Adobe's shift toward subscription models.
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“When the recession of 2009 hit We were a considered purchase, and so given we were a considered purchase, and potentially a discretionary purchase the revenue dropped quite precipitously, and when the revenue drops in a company that is software, which, as you know the biggest expense that you have is people-related expense, and so, that really impacted me when we had to let people go”
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