Sacked from his “dream job” at software program big Atlassian, Rubio* desires only one factor – closure.
“We had been most likely exceeding expectations and there’s no clarification from the firm as an entire as to why any of this occurred,” he says.
“The one need that I’ve, exterior of receiving my severance package deal, is closure as to why I used to be chosen.”
On Thursday morning final week, Atlassian laid off 1,600 employees – about 10% of its whole workforce. Almost 500 Australian employees had been amongst them.
Some had been on the frontline of constructing AI into the firm’s merchandise. There have been those that had labored there for greater than a decade. Others had been on depart after they discovered they had been with out a job.
Guardian Australia spoke to 4 former Australian employees members: three who had been laid off final week and one who left fearing cuts had been coming.
They are saying the redundancies got here with out warning.
It felt like a “lack of humanity”, Rubio says. He had woken up at 8am on that Thursday morning, and noticed an e-mail alerting him to his destiny.
He says his work laptop computer login was blocked simply half an hour later.
“It was only a laborious cease … I didn’t actually know what to do with myself throughout the day,” he says.
“I do not know when the severance package deal will truly come as a result of that wasn’t actually communicated. I actually had to simply begin that technique of in search of new roles as quickly as I obtained the e-mail.”
In a word despatched to employees that very same morning, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes mentioned the firm had to turn out to be extra agile, make investments additional in AI, and at last break even.
‘We thought that we had been protected’
In 2021, Atlassian was price US$77bn. It attracted high software program expertise, having adopted a “crew wherever” coverage of distant work and hiring quickly throughout the pandemic, before protecting work tradition relaxed and flying employees in for crew retreats.
However buyers started promoting out of software program firms. The corporate’s price slipped to US$53bn by early 2025, then halved in the subsequent yr – and halved once more in simply two months.
In the present day it is estimated to be price about US$13bn (A$18bn).
Regardless of producing billions in income from enterprise subscriptions to workflow instruments similar to Trello, it hasn’t turned a revenue in virtually 10 years and buyers worry companies will use AI to make instruments.
Rebecca*, a designer, says the fall in share worth sparked rumours of redundancies, which solely grew after Amazon, Block, Salesforce and Pinterest minimize their workforce and promised to take on extra AI.
Atlassian additionally began bringing in AI “teammates” so employees may do extra, she says.
Then, in February, hiring was paused. The corporate closed quite a few places of work quickly after, citing underutilisation.
Staff retreats, the place employees had been flown in from round the nation to get pleasure from some “togetherness”, had been postponed.
Rebecca thought her crew could be left alone. They had been at the frontline of including AI to Atlassian’s merchandise and had been utilizing the know-how themselves to work quicker.
“We thought that we had been protected,” she says.
“These AI brokers have been actually, actually useful, and they are going to be nonetheless for individuals, however you couldn’t use one thing like that to substitute an precise human employee.”
However the redundancies got here. Most had been in key software program areas of analysis and improvement: engineering, merchandise, design, all areas adopting AI instruments.
Rebecca says she believes little regard was paid to success, or an people’ skills or life state of affairs.
“I’m actually caught, and I don’t assume this was dealt with very nicely, taking a look at lots of our circumstances,” she says.
“They undoubtedly made a mistake by firing so many individuals who [are] keen to put their greatest effort into bettering and constructing new options and features inside AI.”
Employees have heard tales of these being let go whereas on parental depart, simply weeks away from returning to work. Others had to spend the morning comforting crying kids, nervous they’d have to transfer.
Cannon-Brookes informed employees that the affected roles had been fastidiously thought-about.
“We took a considerate and extremely thorough strategy to figuring out impacted roles … and centered on retaining Atlassians with the abilities to assist us thrive as an AI-first firm,” Cannon-Brookes wrote in his word.
“Our strategy is not ‘AI replaces individuals’.”
These affected discovered by means of a sudden e-mail and a video from Cannon-Brookes, after which got a while to say goodbye to colleagues over firm Slack messaging channels.
Rebecca didn’t even get to watch that video. She says she was locked out of her employees account simply an hour after being notified of the layoffs.
“I used to be not in a position to use it for lengthy, I simply checked out it for like 5 minutes,” Rebecca says.
“I can’t entry Slack and I can’t entry something from Atlassian … and I can’t discuss to anybody about my state of affairs.”
‘No selection’ however to pivot laborious to AI?
Atlassian was as soon as well-known for its laid-back insurance policies for workers.
However Shaji*, an engineer who was laid off, says the setting worsened when the firm began focusing on effectivity in 2024.
At round that point, Atlassian up to date its efficiency evaluation system, placing workers all over the place underneath elevated stress, Shaji says.
The brand new system, Apex, is geared toward recognising robust performers and rewarding them. Inside analysis urged worker satisfaction improved, and builders started finishing some duties in half the time after it was launched.
“They had been very open about the indisputable fact that they needed to improve the variety of ‘regrettable attrition’, which is mainly individuals who are efficiency [managed] out … [and] it picked up considerably,” Shaji says.
The corporate additionally started to encourage and prepare employees to use AI instruments. By mid-2025, some had been required to use it, Shaji says, though it’s understood the firm has regarded its strategy to AI as “considerate experimentation”.
“I used to be quicker than AI, if it was a easy bug or vulnerability,” Shaji says.
“However I began utilizing extra AI as the workload began rising … I both have to begin working 12 hours a day to full this backload or duties I obtained, or I would like to begin [automating] my work.”
Cannon-Brookes informed employees in his letter that the firm had no selection however to pivot laborious to AI.
“The bar for what ‘nice’ seems to be like for software program firms – on progress, on profitability, on pace, on worth creation – has gone up,” he wrote.
“It could be disingenuous to faux AI doesn’t change the mixture of abilities we’d like or the variety of roles required in sure areas. It does.”
‘AI-washing’
Rubio accuses the firm of “AI-washing”.
“There’s no quantity of AI that may actually substitute a strong engineer,” he says.
“You’re most likely going to be taking pictures your self in the foot at some later date when one thing occurs and you haven’t any concept how to repair it.”
It’s understood Atlassian requires employees to be accountable for selections – no matter whether or not AI is used to inform them.
Shaji additionally says there’s an opportunity AI instruments will enhance and assist his former colleagues make up for his misplaced experience and work hours.
“They’re making an enormous guess to say … you’ll be able to hearth individuals who maintain all the institutional information as a result of it ought to be inside their merchandise,” he says.
Dave* left the firm in mid-2025, fearing that cuts would come. He was proper.
However he thinks Atlassian had little different possibility, as AI threatens to remodel the software program business.
“A few of this, it’s simply enterprise,” he says. “So many issues that individuals need to do may be automated, that’s simply actuality.”
*Names have been modified to shield privateness.
Disclaimer: This article is sourced from external platforms. OverBeta has not independently verified the information. Readers are advised to verify details before relying on them.
