Changes to the New Relic team

The following is a message New Relic CEO, Bill Staples, sent to the company in connection with the targeted restructuring announced in Form 8-k this morning.

Relics,

At New Relic our mission is to be a source of truth for every engineer to make decisions, every day, using data, not opinions, at every stage of the software lifecycle. We’re continually striving to innovate and improve how we service our customers to solve the challenges of their businesses and communities. 

As we shared, our first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year was a strong start for New Relic. However, to ensure New Relic is positioned for continued growth, and delivering for our customers over the long term, it is important for us to be good stewards of our company’s resources. This means spending wisely, and in-line with current information on growth trends and market expectations.  

In addition, we must hold ourselves accountable to our core values, now, and on an ongoing basis, by focusing on strategic priorities and projects that are driving growth and success for the company and improve our efficiency. 

We began a reassessment of our FY23 budgets in June and identified reductions in non-essential program expenditures, tools and external contracts, and unnecessary travel and also evaluated all open roles and backfill positions to ensure they were still needed and aligned with our strategic priorities. 

We also began a thorough organizational assessment process that incorporated objective criteria, including performance of individuals, teams, and projects, identified role redundancies as well as misalignment of role and skills with our strategic priorities. 

As a result of that assessment, we are initiating a reduction in our workforce today and will be saying goodbye to approximately 90 Relics in the United States, and up to 20 internationally, which would be less than 5% of our company. It is a painful outcome that impacts the lives of people we care about, but I believe this is the responsible action to take. 

Our People team and managers will be working around the clock to ensure everyone is supported and cared for through this difficult transition. Meeting invites will go out in the next few minutes to Relics who are impacted. Those individuals will have a meeting with their leader and a representative from the HRBP team to receive more details. For US-based Relics whose role is being eliminated, the invite is titled, “Your Transition from New Relic”. For Relics in EMEA and APJ whose role may be impacted, your leader or HRBP has sent an invitation that mentions this in the notes. 

In line with our values, we’re doing all we can to help ease the financial burden and transition for those leaving. Each Relic departing will be receiving:

• Severance pay of three months of full pay and target bonus/incentives;
• Extended benefits coverage with COBRA premiums paid for six months, through 28 February 2023 in the US and based on local norms elsewhere;
• For new hires with a one-year cliff on their new hire equity grant, the approximate cash value of the equity as it would have vested since hire if they had no cliff; 
• Extended mental health and employee assistance benefits for 6 months;
• Individual career outplacement support to help find their next career opportunity faster; and
• Their laptops to keep and be re-imaged on their own for personal use.

We are taking this approach globally regardless of start date, and we may adjust some packages up so that they exceed local guidelines, as appropriate. 

For Relics who are leaving, I want to express my sincere appreciation for your hard work and dedication in getting New Relic to where it is today. Thank you. 

For Relics who are not impacted by these changes, I ask that you be patient as we focus on the Relics who are impacted today. Along with my leadership team, I will be hosting two Global All-Hands meetings to share more information. Invites will be coming shortly. 

I want to acknowledge that change can be challenging; however, we are here to support our team members. We should all do our best to remain focused on continuing to build a great business and platform our customers love. I firmly believe in our mission and the opportunities ahead for New Relic.

bill