WiseTech to axe a third of global workforce in two‑year AI pivot
FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Feb 25 : Australian software company WiseTech Global will axe about 2,000 jobs, nearly a third of its global workforce, in a two‑year restructuring that could rank among the country's largest artificial intelligence-linked job cuts.
WiseTech, which makes shipping and logistics management software, on Wednesday said it plans to integrate AI into its customer software as well as internal operations, affecting around 29 per cent of its global workforce of around 7,000 people across 40 countries.
The layoffs highlight how AI is reshaping workplaces globally, as companies adopt automation tools for routine administrative work as well as complex coding tasks that the systems are handling with increasing speed and precision.
Some projects that once took six or seven months can already be completed in a day, said WiseTech Chief Executive Officer Zubin Appoo.
Rolling out global customs capability in a new country, which previously took as long as two years, can be done six or seven times faster thanks to AI, he added.
Appoo said WiseTech workers who dealt with customers directly or chased sales would still require plenty of person-to-person contact.
PROFITS BEAT ESTIMATES
The cuts could shrink some teams by half, starting with product and development, and customer service roles across the organisation. One of the divisions affected will be WiseTech's U.S. cloud computing arm, E2open, acquired in August for $2.1 billion, which may see cuts of up to 50 per cent.
Last month, Amazon announced 16,000 job cuts worldwide in a second round of redundancies at the tech giant in three months, adding to a wave of redundancies by U.S. companies across sectors this year.
"The era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over," Appoo said.
Shares of WiseTech, which also announced an estimate-beating first-half profit, closed 11.1 per cent higher at A$47.74, while Australia's benchmark S&P ASX 200 index rose 1.2 per cent.
WiseTech, founded more than three decades ago, reported first-half underlying net profit of $114.5 million, 6 per cent ahead of market consensus, and announced an interim dividend of 6.8 cents while reaffirming its full-year outlook.
Despite the day's surge, WiseTech's shares remain 68 per cent below their November 2024 peak, as allegations surrounding founder and former CEO Richard White, including claims of payments to an alleged former lover, fuelled an investor exodus. Concerns around how AI would affect the software maker also kept the stock under pressure.
"Recent share price weakness was more governance-driven than fundamental and with the fiscal 2026 guidance reaffirmed, the underlying trajectory remains sustainable despite near-term disruption," said Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at Global X ETFs.
