Tech CEO extremely apologetic as he lays off 252 California workers
Australian technology giant Atlassian, known for its workplace productivity software, leave work 252 workers in California.
The company announced last Wednesday that it would lay off 1,600 workers, a move by CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes that laid off 10% of the company. wrote was to fund more investments artificial intelligence and sales. Atlassian disclosed its California cuts in a WARN filing that said nearly all employees were remote workers, as mandated in the event of mass layoffs.
The state WARN document lists nearly 100 cuts to engineering workers, as well as more than a dozen cuts to data science, design and product management. It notes that the laid-off workers did not report to the San Francisco office, Atlassian’s US headquarters.
Cannon-Brookes tried to soften the blow with her move on Wednesday announcement. He recorded a deeply apologetic video: “Days like these are among the most challenging we experience as a company” and “I’m so sorry for the disruption this has caused to your life.” – and offered comprehensive severance packages. Workers who sign will receive at least 16 weeks of salary and a prorated bonus of $1,000 for returning their corporate laptops.
In a blog post, he praised the company’s financial results but wrote: “The bar has been raised for what ‘great’ looks like for software companies in terms of growth, profitability, speed, value creation. We choose to adapt.”
Cannon-Brookes delved further into the topic of AI after arguing that layoffs would help Atlassian move towards profitability and “move faster.” His company’s layoffs come just weeks after a sweeping layoff of more than 4,000 workers at the Block. Jack Dorseypointed out new AI vehicle capabilities. Atlassian’s leader hinted at similar logic on his blog.
“Our approach is not ‘AI replaces humans,'” Cannon-Brookes wrote. “But it would be disingenuous to claim that AI isn’t changing the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas. It is.”
The company earns most of its revenue from workplace tools like Jira and Confluence. shouting More than 300,000 customers. But Atlassian is still losing tens of millions of dollars each quarter, and investors have dumped the company’s shares by more than 50% since the beginning of January. The company is valued at just under $20 billion.
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