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Updated March 12, 2026 — 9:49am,first published 8:31am
Software giant Atlassian is cutting 10 per cent of its global workforce, or about 1600 employees, as the company led by billionaire chief executive Mike Cannon-Brookes is upended by AI turbulence.
Cannon-Brookes told staff on Thursday morning that AI was changing “the mix of skills we need” and “the number of roles required in certain areas” in the largest restructure in the company’s 23-year history.
A spokeswoman said about 30 per cent of the impacted employees are based in Australia, meaning about 500 local jobs will be axed. Atlassian employs about 16,000 workers globally with about 3500 of those in Australia.
In a video message recorded for staff, Cannon-Brookes described the decision as among the hardest he had faced as a leader.
“Days like these are among the toughest that we have as a company, and certainly the toughest that I have as a leader,” he said. “I am deeply sorry for the disruption this creates in your life.”
The cuts cap a torrid year for Atlassian, whose share price is down 66 per cent over the past 12 months to $US75.45 ($105). Its share price is up more than 4 per cent in after-hours trading in New York.
Cannon-Brookes said more than 100 Atlassian staff worked to determine which roles would be cut with priority given to retaining staff with AI-relevant and transferable skills. Affected staff will receive a minimum 16-week separation package plus one additional week per year of service, extended healthcare cover for six months, and a $1000 technology payment to replace their corporate laptop.
Cannon-Brookes, whose co-CEO Scott Farquhar resigned in April 2024, framed the cuts as offensive rather than defensive.
“The bar for what ‘great’ looks like for software companies – on growth, on profitability, on speed, on value creation – has gone up,” he wrote in a letter to staff. He said the cuts were the product of a “thoughtful and incredibly thorough” process.
“We fundamentally believe people and AI create the best outcomes,” he wrote. “Our approach is not ‘AI replaces people’.”
Atlassian makes collaboration software products including Jira, Confluence and Trello, which are used by hundreds of thousands of organisations worldwide. In November, it dramatically expanded its Melbourne presence.
Atlassian said in a regulatory filing that it would incur between $US225 million and $236 million in charges relating to the lay-offs.
The company also announced chief technology officer Rajeev Rajan, a former Meta executive, would step down after nearly four years.
Cannon-Brookes told staff a company-wide town hall would be held next week to address further questions. “Please be kind to yourselves and to each other,” he said. “Check in on your teammates and friends and give people everywhere the space to process.”
Afterpay’s parent company Block this month slashed more than 4000 jobs in the name of artificial intelligence, joining the likes of WiseTech Global, Amazon, Pinterest and Crowdstrike, which have all slashed roles.
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