More than 1,000 tech jobs have been cut in Australia in recent months, with companies citing artificial intelligence productivity gains. However, experts argue that AI may be used as a convenient excuse for broader corporate restructuring.
Atlassian, the software company, announced 500 job cuts in Australia as part of 1,600 global redundancies. Block, owner of Afterpay, cut 700 Australian workers, and WiseTech let 2,000 employees go. Telstra also axed 200 jobs in its AI joint venture with Accenture.
Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes said the company's approach was not 'AI replaces people', but acknowledged AI changes the mix of skills needed. WiseTech's chief executive Zubin Appoo stated that 'the era of manually writing code as a core act of engineering is over'.
Neal Woolrich, a human resources adviser at Gartner, expressed scepticism: 'I think there's a lot of use of AI as cover for other things going on in the organisation.' He noted that only 1% of job cuts last year were due to AI productivity gains.
Voice actor Teresa Lim, who has worked for 23 years, fears AI could replace her using a 15-second clip of her speech. She says there is no legislation in Australia to prevent this.
Despite the cuts, some analysts say businesses still need humans. Call centres continue hiring, and Morningstar analyst Lochlan Halloway noted that while AI is used for menial tasks, it does not mean junior headcount is being cut.
