Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes announced the layoff of 150 employees, with customer service roles being replaced by artificial intelligence technology. The decision reflects a broader trend of tech executives automating jobs with AI, particularly in customer support functions that OpenAI’s Sam Altman recently predicted could be entirely eliminated by AI systems.
What you should know: The layoffs primarily target customer service positions that Atlassian, a software company, believes can be automated with AI technology.
- Cannon-Brookes made the announcement via video call from his home, with affected employees receiving six months of pay as severance.
- The cuts are part of a wider industry pattern where tech companies are investing billions in AI infrastructure while reducing human workforce costs.
What they’re saying: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently described how AI could replace entire customer support departments.
- “Now you call one of these things and AI answers,” Altman told Federal Reserve vice-chair for supervision Michelle Bowman. “It’s like a super-smart, capable person. There’s no phone tree, there’s no transfers. It can do everything that any customer support agent at that company could do.”
The company’s defense: Atlassian’s other billionaire cofounder Scott Farquhar justified the layoffs as an inevitable result of AI productivity gains.
- “If we make call centre staff more productive, people aren’t going to call more [and] we’ll probably need less call centre staff,” Farquhar explained to reporters.
- “Some parts of our economy will grow significantly as AI makes them more productive, and some parts of our economy will shrink as we do that.”
- The company cited its code of ethics in a blog post, stating their value of “Build with Heart and Balance” involves “making the hard, right decisions with passion, empathy, and care.”
Additional context: Cannon-Brookes previously faced criticism for purchasing a $75 million private jet despite his climate advocacy.
- In a March LinkedIn post, he acknowledged having “a deep internal conflict” about the purchase but argued he needed the plane for “personal security” reasons.
- Farquhar also advocated for revising Australia’s copyright laws to give AI companies unrestricted access to data mining.
Why this matters: The layoffs highlight how AI automation is moving beyond theoretical discussions into concrete workforce reductions, particularly in roles involving routine customer interactions that AI systems can increasingly handle effectively.
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