Software company lays off 150 employees to replace them with AI months after company CEO defended buying private jet for himself

Jira software maker Atlassian has laid off 150 employees, a report claims. The affected roles in the Australian tech company are reportedly being replaced by new artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The latest round of job cuts comes months after Atlassian’s billionaire CEO and co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes, defended his purchase of a private jet. In March, Cannon-Brookes took to professional networking site LinkedIn to defend his decision to acquire a Bombardier 7500, an aircraft which is believed to cost over US$75 million, stating that this purchase would allow him to be a “present dad.” The latest layoffs were also reportedly defended by Atlassian’s other co-founder and former CEO Scott Farquhar.

How Atlassian CEO informed its employees about the layoffs

According to a report by SkyNews Australia, Atlassian employees who were impacted in this round of job cuts were informed of the job cuts via a pre-recorded video message from Cannon-Brookes. In the video, seen by the publication, the CEO spoke from a home office in a faded green hoodie.However, the Cannon-Brookes did not name the affected individuals, who reportedly had to wait 15 minutes for an email confirming their status. Impacted staff had their laptops blocked, but are expected to receive payment for the next six months, the report noted. Meanwhile, Farquhar, Atlassian’s other cofounder, has also reportedly defended the layoffs, saying that Australia’s copyright laws should be updated to allow AI companies unrestricted access to mine data.In a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald, Farquhar said: “If we make call centre staff more productive, people aren’t going to call more [and] we’ll probably need less call centre staff. 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.”Earlier this year, Atlassian faced criticism for Cannon-Brookes buying a personal jet for upwards of $75 million despite his support for climate action and promotion of solar power. He has reportedly been investing heavily in eco-friendly projects, including a solar power cable from Darwin to Singapore.In a post shared on LinkedIn, Cannon-Brookes wrote: “There are a couple of reasons I’ve purchased a plane. Personal security is the primary reason (an unfortunate reality of my world), but also so I can run a global business from Australia, and still be a constantly present dad.”