Atlassian Cuts 10% Of Global Workforce Amid AI Shift, Cites Change In 'Number Of Roles Required'

Atlassian Corp (NASDAQ:TEAM) is cutting roughly 10% of its global workforce, citing the growing influence of artificial intelligence on its business strategy and operations.

Atlassian Lays Off 1,600 Employees Over AI Restructuring

On Wednesday, the Australian-American software company, known for products like Jira, Trello and Confluence, announced it will eliminate about 1,600 jobs worldwide, reported Business Insider.

The cuts are part of a restructuring aimed at focusing on AI and enterprise growth. About 30% of the layoffs are in Australia.

In a message to employees, CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes acknowledged the impact of AI on the company's staffing needs.

"It would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn't change the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas. It does," Cannon-Brookes wrote.

He added, "I believe this is the right decision for Atlassian. But that doesn't mean it's easy. Far from it."

Cannon-Brookes continued, “I know this has a huge impact on each of you, and it weighs heavily on me and Atlassian today.”

The restructuring also affects senior leadership. Chief Technology Officer Rajeev Rajan will step down on March 31 after nearly four years in the role.

Atlassian plans to offer affected employees a minimum 16-week severance package, extended healthcare, and prorated bonuses.

The company's aggressive AI push includes acquisitions of The Browser Company, maker of the Arc and Dia browsers, and developer intelligence platform DX, which will be integrated into products like Jira and Bitbucket.

AI Impact On Jobs And Software Transformation

Earlier this week, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) raised concerns about AI's effect on American workers and unveiled his AI for America roadmap to protect jobs and ensure corporations contribute fairly.

He said big companies were signaling plans to shrink their workforces and emphasized solutions to put workers first while minimizing job losses and supporting retraining.

Last week, Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff downplayed fears of mass AI-driven layoffs, and thousands of U.S. workers were cut that week at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL), and Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF).

In the software sector, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang's comments signaled a shift from seat-based subscriptions to renting AI agents, with Gene Munster noting usage-based models would likely thrive as traditional models face pressure.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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