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<\/p>\nMass lay-offs fuelled by artificial intelligence are ramping up for local firms, with logistics software player WiseTech Global planning to cut about 2,000 jobs over the next 18 months.<\/p>\n
WiseTech said some teams would be cut in half, with the redundancies impacting about 29 per cent of staff across 40 countries.<\/p>\n
Addressing analysts on a results briefing, chief executive Zubin Appoo described it as a “deliberate AI transformation journey”.<\/p>\n
“Software development has experienced its most significant shift in decades,” Mr Appoo said in a statement to the ASX.<\/p>\n
“I am prepared to say this clearly: the era of manually writing code as a core act of engineering is over.”<\/p>\n
He said AI was expected to deliver a “leaner, more efficient AI-led organisation supporting a structurally lower cost base and improved scalability”.<\/p>\n
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WiseTech shares rallied on Wednesday on the news of the large job cuts. (Reuters: Jason Reed)<\/p>\n
WiseTech currently employs about 7,000 people globally, according to its website, following a large acquisition that more than doubled its headcount.<\/p>\n
Customer service and product and development teams globally will be among the first on the chopping block, with the company forecasting an up to 50 per cent reduction in headcount in those teams.<\/p>\n
The 2,000 job cuts flagged for the remainder of this financial year and into the 2027 financial year seem unlikely to be the end of the restructure.<\/p>\n
“As AI capability continues to advance, we expect further efficiency gains over time,” Mr Appoo told the briefing.<\/p>\n
“In the AI workflow engine, they want to understand how we can help reduce labour substantially, as [founder Richard White] said, by potentially 50 per cent over the next few years by replicating parts of that workflow.”<\/p>\n
The WiseTech boss said more than 500 roles had already been cut in the current financial year.<\/p>\n
Has the fourth industrial revolution arrived?<\/a><\/p>\n A fake news story about me, a series of AI breakthroughs and a resignation in the tech world show that 2026 could be pivotal for AI.<\/p>\n Investors welcomed the development, with the stock rallying 11.1 per cent on the ASX on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The company announced a 36 per cent fall in statutory net profit. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, underlying profit edged 2 per cent higher to $US114.5 million ($161 million).<\/p>\n It follows a tumultuous few years for the software firm, after Mr White stepped down as boss of the firm he co-founded, as personal scandals hit the headlines.<\/p>\n WiseTech later undertook a governance review, following a series of exits from the board. It found Mr White had misled the firm’s board about the nature of several relationships<\/a>. Mr White accepted the findings.<\/p>\n Mr White has continued with the firm as executive chair and chief innovation officer.<\/p>\n In October, WiseTech’s Sydney offices were searched<\/a> by officers from the Australian Federal Police and ASIC over share trading allegations.<\/p>\n CBA to cut 300 roles, launch ‘AI-ready’ workforce program<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the Australian corporate world, the Commonwealth Bank announced late on Tuesday that it would cut 300 jobs\u00a0from its workforce.<\/p>\n AI expert warns Australia is unprepared for ‘supercharged’ harms<\/a><\/p>\n Renowned AI expert Toby Walsh has used a National Press Club address to warn the Australian government about what he argues are inadequate approaches to regulating the technology.<\/p>\n The Finance Sector Union (FSU) said the cuts “will affect teams across retail, business and institutional banking and human resources, with the majority of roles impacted in technology”.<\/p>\n “At a time when CBA has just posted over $5 billion in half-yearly profit, cutting the jobs of 300 workers is totally unacceptable,” FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor years we have seen CBA continue to axe hundreds upon hundreds of jobs while raking in billions in profits \u2013 we’ve heard countless stories of CBA workers being tossed onto the redundancy pile and having to fend for themselves at the whim of the bank.”<\/p>\n At the same time, CBA unveiled a $90 million ‘Future Workforce Program’ that it said would help workers get ahead of the changing nature of work and be “AI-ready”. It will include a career portal to help staff find job opportunities across the bank.<\/p>\n “Hopefully it will accelerate many people’s careers within CBA,” chief executive Matt Comyn said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Australia has to get really good at adopting this technology and whatever follows it \u2026 this is a topic we have been thinking about for some time.”<\/p>\n