Enterprise collaboration software giant Atlassian is laying off 63 workers in Washington as part of a broader workforce reduction affecting 10% of its staff, or 1,600 employees globally, as the company transitions to an “AI-first” strategy.
Atlassian announced Wednesday it will cut about 10% of its staff as the 24-year-old software firm shifts focus. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes wrote that AI is changing the mix of skills and number of roles required in certain areas. “This is primarily about adaptation. We are reshaping our skill mix and changing how we work to build for the future,” he said.
Atlassian opened an office in Bellevue in 2024. A WARN notice filed with state regulators indicates that nearly all the employees affected by layoffs in Washington state are remote workers. About half of the affected workers are in engineering or data science roles.
The company also announced Wednesday that CTO Rajeev Rajan, who is based in the Seattle region, will step down after nearly four years with Atlassian. “Atlassian is thankful for Mr. Rajan’s many contributions in building a world-class R&D organization and congratulates the promotion of next generation AI talent in Taroon Mandhana, CTO Teamwork, and Vikram Rao, CTO Enterprise and Chief Trust Officer,” the company wrote in a SEC filing.
Rajan was previously a VP of engineering at Meta and led the company’s Pacific Northwest engineering hub. He also spent more than two decades at Microsoft in various leadership roles. Several tech companies have cut staff in the Seattle area this year, including Amazon, Expedia, T-Mobile, and Smartsheet. Many corporations are slashing headcount to address pandemic-fueled corporate “bloat” while juggling economic uncertainty and impact from AI tools.
The recent rise of AI tools are also spooking investors as some software stocks have taken a hit. Atlassian shares are down more than 50% this year. The layoffs highlight how AI is reshaping workforce needs at tech companies, with traditional engineering and data science roles increasingly replaced by specialized AI positions even as companies claim the technology will augment rather than replace human workers.
