Updated February 25, 2026 — 11:51am,first published February 25, 2026 — 9:59am
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WiseTech Global will cut roughly 2000 staff – nearly a third of its workforce of 7000 – over the next two years as chief executive Zubin Appoo bets the logistics software giant’s future on artificial intelligence.
Some teams face headcount reductions of up to 50 per cent, starting with product development and customer service, including recently acquired US platform e2open.
WiseTech’s billionaire founder Richard White and chief executive Zubin Appoo.Sitthixay Ditthavong
The restructure comes amid a steep sell-off across traditional software companies, from Atlassian to Adobe, driven by fears that AI-powered coding tools will allow upstarts to rapidly replicate services that took incumbents years to build.
“The era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over,” Appoo declared on Wednesday, calling AI “the most significant shift in decades” for software development.
The cuts follow a turbulent period for the company, which has faced governance scrutiny and leadership upheaval including the departure of former chief executive Richard White. Appoo framed the job losses as an “AI transformation program” that would let WiseTech move “faster from ideas to real customer value”.
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Investors responded positively, with WiseTech shares soaring 10.7 per cent in early trading to $47.60.
The job cuts were announced alongside half-year results that painted a mixed financial picture. Revenue surged 76 per cent to $US672 million ($950 million), boosted by five months of revenue from e2open, which WiseTech acquired for $US2.1 billion last year. But organic revenue growth was a more modest 7 per cent.
Net profit fell 36 per cent to $US68.1 million, weighed down by e2open integration costs, increased amortisation and interest expenses. Underlying profit – which excludes acquisition-related charges – rose just 2 per cent to $US114.5 million.
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Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro, said the restructure gave investors a clearer narrative after months of uncertainty.
“The market spent the better part of this year punishing WiseTech for what it feared AI would do to the business,” Gilbert said. “Rather than being a victim of the AI revolution, WiseTech is using it to become a leaner, more profitable business, and that’s exactly what investors needed to see.”
WiseTech serves more than 22,000 logistics companies across 193 countries, including 46 of the top 50 global third-party logistics providers.
“If WiseTech can deliver its software with a significantly smaller headcount while continuing to embed CargoWise deeper into the world’s largest logistics networks, the margin expansion potential over the next two to three years is substantial,” Gilbert said.
“But the company needs to prove that cutting nearly a third of its workforce doesn’t come at the expense of the product quality and customer service and that organic growth can find its feet again.”
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David Swan is the technology editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously technology editor for The Australian newspaper.Connect via X or email.From our partners