The collaboration software company follows in the footsteps of big tech companies including Microsoft, Facebook, and Google in cutting staff to position itself for the long term, focusing on cloud migration and IT service management (ITSM). Credit: Thinkstock Australia-based collaboration software company Atlassian, whose products target software developers and project managers, has announced plans to lay off 500 employees, around 5% of its workforce, to focus on enterprise cloud migration issues and IT service management (ITSM). A blog post published Monday and authored by the company’s founders and co-CEOs, Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes, said that the company had made the “difficult decision to rebalance our team to better position Atlassian for the long term.” However, the two executives added the move was “different to a financially-driven reduction” as the decision was not a reflection of Atlassian’s own financial performance, rather that the company was instead looking to reinvest in roles that better support the company’s priorities. “As a company, we have massive growth opportunities in front of us, particularly across cloud migrations, ITSM, and serving our enterprise customers in the cloud,” the co-CEOs said. The move follows similar announcements that have been plaguing the global technology industry since the end of 2022 and has seen companies such as Meta, Twitter, Salesforce and Alphabet lay off tens of thousands of employees in order to address issues of over-hiring during the pandemic and ongoing macroeconomic factors. Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes said the teams set to be hit hardest by the cuts are talent acquisition, program management and research. Affected employees will receive 15 weeks salary, plus one week for each year of employment, job-seeking support, and will be allowed to keep their laptops. They will also be able to use internal tools to remain in contact with colleagues until Friday March 10. “We want to be clear these decisions are not a reflection of our teammates’ work,” the co-founders said. “Every single person has made contributions that have changed our company for the better and will leave a lasting impact on their peers and teams. This is about rebalancing the roles we need across Atlassian first and foremost.” In early February 2023, Atlassian posted revenue of $873 million for its second quarter fiscal year 2023, up 27% year-over-year. However, despite an increase in subscription revenue growth, the company still closed the quarter with a $205 million net loss, due mainly to increasing R&D, marketing and sales, and administrative costs. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made on March 6, 2023, Atlassian estimated that during the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, the company will incur approximately $70 million to $75 million in charges in connection with the layoffs. Related content news Meta signals the end of the road for Workplace The enterprise social network was used by millions of workers, but a shift in Meta’s priorities means the app will be phased out over the next two years. By Matthew Finnegan May 15, 2024 3 mins Facebook Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis There aren't nearly enough workers to support new US chip production Even as the semiconductor industry hopes to find and recruit skilled workers, a lack of talent could undermine national objectives, push up labor costs, and hinder the returns from the billions of dollars being spent, according to a McKinsey & Co By Lucas Mearian May 15, 2024 10 mins CPUs and Processors Government Manufacturing Industry news Soon, you’ll control your iPhone with a glance Apple has announced a range of accessibility features including Eye Tracking, Music Haptics, and more. By Jonny Evans May 15, 2024 5 mins iPhone iPad Apple news OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever is leaving Sutskever pushed for CEO Sam Altman’s departure last year, putting him in an awkward position after Altman’s return. By Gyana Swain May 15, 2024 3 mins Generative AI Technology Industry Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe