Software company Atlassian announced plans to let go of around 1600 employees which is ten percent of its workforce. The business wants to shift focus and put more money into artificial intelligence and enterprise sales. Here are ten things to know.
A Big Reduction In The Overall Workforce
The software maker is letting go of roughly 1600 workers across different departments around the world. This massive cut represents ten percent of the people who currently work there.
Reinvesting Money Into Artificial Intelligence Projects
Atlassian is letting go of ten percent of its staff today. They are making this tough call because they really want to focus on building new artificial intelligence tools. The leaders think this path keeps them strong and ahead of other companies without needing extra loans.
Pushing Harder Into Large Enterprise Sales
Along with the new technology focus the company also wants to put more effort into selling products to very large business customers. Building up a bigger sales team to land massive contracts is a main goal moving forward.
Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Needed Job Skills
The leader mentioned that new tech won’t replace people but it really changes the talents that are needed for success. They are now changing their staff to match what the future of work looks like. It is a smart way to stay ahead today.
The Top Technology Boss Is Stepping Down
As part of this huge reshuffle the chief technology officer Rajeev Rajan will leave his position at the end of March. The company is bringing in new leaders to specifically oversee their technology roadmap and teamwork tools.
Employees Get Several Months Of Severance Pay
Workers losing their jobs will get at least sixteen weeks of normal pay plus extra money for every year they worked there. The company is also offering to help pay for health insurance and career transition services for a while.
Huge Costs Are Expected From This Restructuring
Making all of these sudden changes and closing down some office spaces is going to cost the business a lot of money upfront. They expect to take a hit of over two hundred million dollars just to pay for severance and related fees.
Investors Reacted Positively To The Shocking News
Even though laying people off is tough the stock market actually seemed to like the idea that the business was cutting costs. The company shares went up a little bit right after the big announcement was made public.
Preparing For The Future Of Teamwork
The main message from leadership is that they need to adapt and move much faster to survive in a changing market. They are completely reorganizing internal systems to build products that help people work alongside computers better.
