Layoffs as solution to cost containment - Senior Associate Sustainalytics Employee Review

As Morningstar shared in its latest quarterly shareholder letter (https://s21.q4cdn.com/198919461/files/doc_financials/2023/q2/Letter-to-Shareholders-Q2-2023.pdf), the company is focused on building durable growth and profitability. The company has been taking a hard look at whether we have the right-sized teams for the current market opportunity. As certain parts of the business at Morningstar continue to face challenging operating and market environments, we have made some difficult decisions to conduct targeted reorganizations. These decisions are not taken lightly, and we are grateful to our colleagues who have dedicated their time and talent to our organization. We are working closely with those who are affected, including providing comprehensive severance packages and outplacement support, to care for our colleagues in the transition. We recently announced a closer alignment of Morningstar Indexes and Morningstar Sustainalytics (https://newsroom.morningstar.com/newsroom/news-archive/press-release-details/2023/Morningstar-Sustainalytics-and-Morningstar-Indexes-Align-to-Strengthen-Morningstars-ESG-Offering/default.aspx). As a part of this alignment, we are in the process of making adjustments to strengthen the financial footing of the business. We remain committed to growing our ESG capabilities and will continue to invest in this area going forward. Unfortunately, headcount reductions in addition to other expense reductions are part of the mix. While it has been a very difficult decision, we plan to reduce our global headcount at Sustainalytics by 10-12% to ensure we can get the business on a healthy financial footing to be able to move forward and grow. We are not able to share details on impacted employees. We took great care in making these decisions and in every case will work closely with those who are impacted, as well as those who remain, to ensure a smooth transition and support for our global teams.