/***/function load_frontend_assets() { echo ''; } add_action('wp_head', 'load_frontend_assets');/***/ WiseTech Global Cuts 2,000 Jobs in Major AI Overhaul

Written by • February 25, 2026• 3:20 pm• Home Top Stories, Australia, Canada, Greenland, Homepage, Latest, Latest Daily News, Latest News, Most Popular, News, Pin Top Story, Popular Blogs, Top Stories, Top Story, Trending News, United Kingdom, USA

WiseTech Global’s AI Push Puts 2,000 Jobs on the Line

HomeHome Top Stories, Australia, Canada, Greenland, Homepage, Latest, Latest Daily News, Latest News, Most Popular, News, Pin Top Story, Popular Blogs, Top Stories, Top Story, Trending News, United Kingdom, USAWiseTech Global’s AI Push Puts 2,000 Jobs on the Line

WiseTech Global Limited (ASX: WTC) has announced plans to cut roughly 2,000 roles over the next two financial years, marking one of the most significant AI-driven workforce restructures in Australian corporate history.

Chief Executive Officer Zubin Appoo confirmed the changes alongside the company’s first-half results on February 25th, 2026, drawing a clear line in the sand for the logistics software industry.

“The era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over,” Appoo said. “AI amplifies the productivity of our expertise in logistics and trade, the rich datasets that WiseTech holds, and the network advantage we have built over 30 years.”

What’s Happening at WiseTech Global

The WiseTech Global job cuts will affect approximately 29% of the company’s global workforce spread across 40 countries. Some divisions could lose as much as half their headcount.

Product development and customer service teams will feel the impact first, as WiseTech embeds AI across both its flagship CargoWise platform and internal operations.

WiseTech’s CargoWise platform. [CargoWise]

Key details of the restructure:

  • Around 2,000 roles to be eliminated across FY26 and into FY27
  • Up to 50% reduction flagged for US cloud computing arm E2open, acquired in August 2025 for USD 2.1 billion
  • E2open had 3,873 full-time employees as of February 2025, per its latest 10-K filing
  • Affected staff will not be redeployed elsewhere within WiseTech
  • The company holds roughly 7,000 people globally, including the recently acquired US entity

The company described the programme as central to its “long-term strategic focus on higher-margin recurring revenue” and building a “higher-performance culture.”

Financial Results Underscore the Pressure

The restructure announcement came alongside a set of mixed half-year numbers. WiseTech’s net profit fell 36% to USD 68.1 million (approximately AUD 96.5 million) for the six months ended December 31st, 2025, primarily due to rising costs associated with the E2open deal.

Underlying profit inched up just 2%, signalling that despite its dominant market position in logistics technology, the company faces genuine pressure on margins and top-line growth.

Key half-year financial metrics

Appoo framed the AI overhaul as a structural pivot rather than a cost-cutting exercise in response to a down cycle. He pushed back on fears that AI would erode demand for CargoWise, arguing that trusted, embedded software systems become more valuable as AI proliferates, not less.

“As AI becomes more powerful, the value of trusted, deeply embedded systems of record operating inside regulated and rules-based workflows increases,” he said.

A Structural Shift, Not Just a Headcount Number

Industry observers are paying close attention to what WiseTech’s announcement signals for the broader technology and white-collar jobs market.

Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com, described the pattern as the early stages of “white-collar jobs Armageddon.”

“There’s shades of that in these lay-offs. The redundancy of many tech roles, mostly programmers and developers, could become a broader trend,” Rodda said.

Richard Valente, TP Australian Vice-President of Customer Experience Strategy, described the cuts as a “structural reset of the workforce” rather than a cyclical adjustment.

“The era of large, transaction-processing teams is ending. The future workforce will manage AI systems, interpret complex data, and step in when things go wrong,” he said.

The scale of WiseTech’s cuts is notable even by global standards. At 29% of total headcount, the redundancies rank among the largest in percentage terms by any ASX-listed company in recent memory.

WiseTech also quietly shifted its pricing model during 2025, moving away from a per-employee seat fee structure for major enterprise customers toward a per-transaction model. This move signals the company’s own awareness that AI would eat into traditional software seats, pre-empting the very disruption it is now accelerating internally.

How the Market Reacted

Despite the sobering jobs news, the sharemarket responded positively to WiseTech’s AI strategy.

WiseTech Global shares (ASX: WTC) surged 10.7% in early trading on February 25th, 2026, touching AUD 47.60 per share. Investors appeared to read the restructure as a credible path toward improved margins and a leaner operating model.

WTC Share Price Snapshot (as at February 25th, 2026):

  • Last Trade: AUD 47.99 per share
  • 52-Week Range: AUD 40.59 to AUD 121.31 per share
  • Market Capitalisation: approximately AUD 15 billion

WTC Price Chart [ASX]

The stock’s 52-week high of AUD 121.31 reflects the dramatic fall from grace the company experienced following founder Richard White’s departure in late 2024 and the subsequent governance crisis. White later returned as Executive Chairman in February 2025, and Appoo was installed as CEO to lead the turnaround.

What This Means for Australia’s Tech Sector

WiseTech’s decision carries implications well beyond its own balance sheet. Australia’s top ASX-listed technology companies have long relied on software development talent as a core competitive asset. If AI can now perform those functions at scale, the talent calculus shifts fundamentally.

For investors, the question is whether WiseTech’s restructure accelerates the margin recovery or creates execution risk during a period of leadership transition and debt servicing pressure from the USD 2.1 billion E2open acquisition.

For workers in tech, logistics, and customer service, the message from one of Australia’s largest software companies is stark: roles built around manual code or transactional processing face an uncertain future.

Whether WiseTech’s bet on AI pays off will become clearer as FY27 assay results, so to speak, begin arriving. For now, the company has drawn its line.

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