Avaya continues to make global layoffs, with Europe and the Middle East hit particularly hard.
While many online have suggested that this represents another round of cuts, it’s a continuation of those that Avaya announced in November.
The move is just hitting different regions at different times for legal and processing reasons.
That’s according to Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research, who has been in contact with Avaya’s senior management team.
While Kerravala couldn’t share the exact numbers of staff laid off, the analyst emphasized that the cuts were deep, with a significant impact on EMEA.
"Right now, Europe, in particular the UK, is being disproportionately impacted for a couple of reasons," he said.
"First, laying off people in the UK is complicated, so Avaya has avoided that until now, and now it’s coming all at once.
Also, the regions that support a tiny portion of the G1500 (Avaya’s top global 1500 customers) – like the Middle East – will likely see Avaya maintain a minimal presence. Or, perhaps, [the company may] leave the region completely with a remote presence.
In centering the business around Avaya’s top 1,500 customers, Avaya’s CEO Patrick Dennis – who took charge of the company in September 2024 - is trying to implement a scaled-down version of the Broadcom playbook.
This strategy aligns with its shift away from serving the entire contact center market.
Indeed, Avaya has historically supported customers ranging from small businesses to enterprises with millions of employees.
Over the years, it has shed much of the small and mid-market, but it still has products and teams that serve those segments.
Now, all customers not in their top 1,500 are essentially out of its scope – including those talented employees who support them.
Meanwhile, given this strategy, marketing personnel likely have no future at the company.