Atlassian, the Australian-born software titan behind Jira and Trello, announced a sweeping restructuring plan that will eliminate approximately 1,600 positions, or about 10% of its global workforce — the latest move by high-profile tech companies that are folding artificial intelligence (AI) into their core businesses.
The layoffs hit the company’s research and development divisions hardest, with over 900 affected roles coming from the engineering and design teams that form the backbone of the firm. Geographically, the impact is widespread: 640 roles in North America, 480 in Australia, and 250 in India, with further cuts across Europe and Asia.
In a note to staff, co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes described the decision as “right for Atlassian” but acknowledged the heavy emotional toll. The restructuring also reaches the executive suite. Chief Technology Officer Rajeev Rajan will depart in March, replaced by Taroon Mandhana and Vikram Rao, leaders the company has branded as “next-generation AI talent.”
While Cannon-Brookes said “AI does not replace people,” he admitted it would be “disingenuous” to suggest the technology hasn’t altered the company’s required headcount and skill mix. The goal is to “self-fund” further AI investment and enterprise sales, aiming to push the company toward its first annual profit since 2017.
The announcement comes at a volatile time. Since the beginning of 2026, Atlassian’s share price has cratered, losing more than half its value as investors fear AI could eventually make the company’s workflow services obsolete. Despite reaching a quarterly revenue of $1.6 billion in late 2025, the firm still posted a $42 million net loss.
The union representing Atlassian workers, Professionals Australia, has slammed the move as a “devastating blow.” Union Director Paul Inglis criticized the company for a lack of transparency, noting that experienced professionals were sidelined without consultation. The union has requested urgent meetings to discuss the direct link between the introduction of AI and these redundancies.
To cushion the transition, Atlassian is providing a minimum of 16 weeks’ pay, extended healthcare, and a $1,000 “technology payment” for returning hardware. In a rare cultural gesture, internal Slack channels remained open for several hours post-announcement to allow departing Atlassians to say their goodbyes.
The restructuring, expected to cost up to $174 million, mirrors recent aggressive cuts at other tech firms like Block and WiseTech. Block CEO Jack Dorsey recently framed a staggering 40% reduction in staff, or roughly 4,000 employees, as a visionary bet on AI. “A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better,” he said.
Last month, logistics software giant WiseTech Global said it planned to slash approximately 2,000 jobs over the next 18 months, a move that will eliminate nearly 30% of its global workforce across 40 countries. The restructuring is expected to hit some internal teams particularly hard, with headcount in certain departments slated to be cut in half as the company pivots toward an automation-heavy business model.
WiseTech CEO Zubin Appoo characterized the layoffs as a “deliberate AI transformation journey,” arguing that traditional software development has reached a fundamental turning point.
“I am prepared to say this clearly: the era of manually writing code as a core act of engineering is over,” Appoo said, signaling a permanent shift in how the industry leader intends to build and maintain its platforms.
Salesforce Inc. followed a similar script, though with a heavier focus on agentic AI. CEO Marc Benioff famously declared “I need less heads” after cutting the company’s customer support division from 9,000 to 5,000 roles, claiming the Agentforce platform now handles nearly half of the workload.
For Atlassian, the gamble is clear: sacrifice a tenth of its workforce today to ensure its software remains the engine of the AI-powered office of tomorrow.
