Autodesk to Close Marin County Headquarters and Relocate

Autodesk Inc. is closing its headquarters in San Rafael and reassigning its 578 remaining Marin employees to San Francisco, reports the Marin Independent Journal.

The design software company, reportedly one of Marin’s most successful startups, notified the state Employment Development Department of its plans “as a courtesy and in an abundance of caution” in an Aug. 15 letter.

The letter stated that Autodesk’s San Rafael office at 111 McInnis Parkway will be closing for good effective Oct. 14.

“All 578 employees who are currently assigned to the San Rafael office will have their assigned office transferred to our office at the Landmark at One Market Street, San Francisco,” says Autodesk executive Rebecca Pearce.

The letter stated that most of these employees are now designated as hybrid workers and do not have mandatory weekly in-office days. Only five employees are office based and will be required to work in the San Francisco office.

Autodesk spokeswoman Mary Garofalo says the company has “ramped up” a new workplace model that divides employees into three groups: office based, hybrid or home based.

“The majority of our global team falls within the hybrid category, meaning they split their time between their homes and local, commutable Autodesk offices,” Garofalo says. “At this time, Autodesk is not requiring employees to come into an office on any fixed or mandatory weekly schedule.”

Garofalo says Autodesk has 12,600 employees worldwide, but did not disclose how many of those employees work in the United States.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.