WiseTech begins layoffs linked to AI transformation as staff question China email wording

WiseTech has begun informing staff that they will lose their jobs as part of redundancies the company says are due to advances in artificial intelligence, although an email sent to employees in China omitted the term “AI” after a recent court case against another company in the country.

Staff at the logistics software company have been waiting for almost three months to learn whether they are among the 2,000 people expected to be cut. The Australian Stock Exchange-listed company announced in late February that it would lay off almost 30% of its 7,000 employees across 40 countries.

A WiseTech spokesperson said the process had begun in South Korea and Mexico and would start in other countries, including Australia, next week.

In an email sent to staff this week outlining the timeline for the redundancy process, the company referred to an “AI transformation”, saying “AI has fundamentally changed how work gets done across many industries and businesses”.

However, internal WiseTech Global Teams chats seen by Guardian Australia showed employees discussing how the email sent to China-based staff instead referred to a “global transformation” and omitted the line about AI.

Employees in the chat asked chief executive Zubin Appoo whether the change was made in response to a recent Chinese court ruling that awarded almost A$53,000 to an employee at a tech company who had been sacked and replaced with AI.

“Changing the content of just one email seems quite confusing,” one employee said. “We have several emails that can demonstrate it was an AI layoff.”

“Zubin can you please clearly explain what legal law prevented you from [including the] word AI [in the] China email when you have been clear through out past three months that these redundancies are due to AI?” another asked.

Appoo replied that “different jurisdictions have different legal and regulatory requirements, which is why some communications may vary by country.”

The WiseTech spokesperson said the language of internal communications “has no bearing on the obligations we have to our employees in this process, which remain constant regardless of geography.”

“We are committed to fulfilling these obligations and treating our employees fairly and respectfully.”

Morale among employees who have waited months to learn their fate is understood to be low.

“I still remember being proud telling people what the company stood for and how amazing it was to work here,” one employee said in the chat.

“Throughout this process I’ve watched good hardworking friends and colleagues have to resort to hallway whispers and gossip to find out clues about their fate at the company, that’s not transparency.”

One employee in Sydney, who was not authorised to speak publicly, told Guardian Australia that the past three months had been marked by stress and checking his inbox every morning for an update.

“Now that we know when, the anxiety has shifted into something else. More like sadness,” he said.

“Not that long ago people were genuinely proud to work here … and it took a few days to destroy that completely.”

He said workers were fighting for anything above the minimum redundancy package and that months of uncertainty had led employees to defer holidays, home purchases and starting a family.

Another employee, based in Germany, said WiseTech’s internal and external communication did not appear to be backed by a “real plan”.

“Our leadership is ghosting their complete reporting line and hiding behind Zubin’s emails – which are anything other than clear and specific,” he said.

“Everything has come to a halt now because people do not know what the future will bring and what they should do now since there is no clear guidance or vision for the products involved.”

The union representing the tech workers, Professionals Australia, presented a petition signed by nearly 600 WiseTech employees to Appoo last week, calling for fair redundancy packages, transparency and genuine consultation.

“This is what AI disruption looks like on the ground and workers are terrified,” said Paul Inglis, a director at Professionals Australia.

“In just eight weeks, union membership at WiseTech has surged over 30 per cent of the technical workforce. That sends a clear message: workers do not feel protected navigating this change alone.

“Big tech cannot be allowed to reshape the workforce without accountability. Enough is enough.”