The Australian Stock Exchange-listed company announced in late February that it would lay off almost 30% of its workforce across 40 countries, with 2,000 of the 7,000 jobs set to go over the next 18 months.<\/p>\n
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n Some areas would be hit harder than others, with product and development and customer service teams expected to be reduced by up to 50%, chief executive Zubin Appoo told an investor briefing in February.<\/p>\n \u201cThe era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over,\u201d Appoo said.<\/p>\n WiseTech was one of a number of companies<\/a> that earlier this year announced job cuts due to AI advancements. Unlike companies such as Block and Atlassian, which told affected staff at the time of announcement, WiseTech staff are still unsure about their future.<\/p>\n A WiseTech spokesperson said in April the company was consulting teams in a \u201cstructured and phased\u201d manner.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause this is real organisational transformation, and not a cost-cutting exercise, it takes time to work through the process: redesigning our portfolios, designing the appropriate team structures, consulting with relevant stakeholders and then selecting the potentially impacted roles across our workforce,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this stage, no final decisions have been made about individual roles.\u201d<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019. <\/p>\n SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/p>\n If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finally, our guide at theguardian.com\/tips<\/a>\u00a0lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.\u00a0<\/p>\n Illustration: Guardian Design \/ Rich Cousins<\/p>\n Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n The process has left staff feeling uncertain.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are being told to keep delivering as usual, while also helping roll out the AI tools that are supposedly meant to replace them,\u201d one Sydney<\/a> worker, Bruce* said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of this while everyone\u2019s left waiting to find out if they\u2019re in the 50%.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruce said he was working \u201cunder serious stress and uncertainty\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cChecking my email every morning, and at the same time copping public commentary from Zubin that the era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cCoding isn\u2019t the core act of engineering, it\u2019s one part of it, but it\u2019s all about what it feels like to hear someone tell the market your craft is obsolete, and then be expected to come in the next day and keep shipping.\u201d<\/p>\n This week, a petition was launched on the union-backed platform Megaphone, calling on WiseTech to treat employees fairly and transparently during the restructure, including negotiating fair and competitive redundancy packages, and for safe ways for employees to raise concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, many employees are being asked to maintain performance while facing unclear expectations about their roles and direction,\u201d the Professionals Australia-backed petition states. \u201cA fair and competitive redundancy package is not just a cost. It is a signal of respect, responsibility, and leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n The petition had more than 300 signatures at the time of reporting, with several of those who signed complaining about the drawn-out process.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is getting ridiculous,\u201d one stated. \u201cI haven\u2019t heard of a company announcing redundancies, and then keeping employees in a limbo for months.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have no idea how much stress they are causing.\u201d<\/p>\n Another said they had worked through prolonged uncertainty and expected fairness, respect and dignity in return.<\/p>\n For the staff who do remain, the future may be as uncertain. Appoo told investors in February that as AI capability continues to advance, \u201cwe expect further efficiency gains over time\u201d.<\/p>\n WiseTech has reframed itself as an AI-led company. Its co-founder, Richard White, unveiled at the February briefing an \u201cAI agent credo\u201d written by an AI agent that can undertake tasks for a human. The credo states: \u201cCapacity is no longer constrained by people or time.\u201d<\/p>\n White and Appoo reportedly did not address the redundancies at a Macquarie conference in Sydney on Tuesday, where White reportedly claimed<\/a> AI agents could learn a human\u2019s job in 15 minutes and, in two to three hours, could perform just as well.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778089149_533_4000.jpg\")
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