Kommersant: Autodesk liquidates a legal entity in Russia

The American company Autodesk, which develops software for various types of design of buildings, plants and equipment, will completely liquidate the Russian legal entity LLC Autodesk (CIA) by the end of summer and dismiss employees in the Russian office, writes Kommersant, citing sources.

The company announced the suspension of its activities in Russia on March 3, shortly after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. The company itself told the newspaper that from that moment “they continue to assess the prospects for the development of business and employees in the country”, refusing to comment further.

Alexey Smirnov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Basalt SPO, told the publication that the Russian office of Autodesk mainly consisted not of developers, but of sales managers. According to him, only 30% of companies in Russia use similar domestic software. Aleksey Nikitin, General Director of Digital Solutions in Construction LLC, in turn noted that the departure of Autodesk is a blow for Russian designers who are accustomed to working with the company’s software, which occupied one of the leading positions in the subject of BIM design.

In mid-July, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation Konstantin Mikhailik said that a massive transition to domestic software in the construction industry would be possible by 2024, informed TASS. According to him, more than 100 domestic software for the architectural and engineering industries can replace foreign counterparts that have suspended work or left the Russian market.

After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, many software developers have limited or curtailed their work, including MicrosoftAlphabet, AWS, SAPVMware, TeamViewer, etc.

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