WiseTech Begins Redundancies Across Multiple Countries

WiseTech has begun informing staff in South Korea and Mexico that they will lose their jobs as part of a redundancy process announced in late February. The ASX-listed company said it would cut almost 30 percent of its 7,000 employees across 40 countries. A spokesperson stated that notifications would begin in Australia and other locations next week.

An internal email sent this week described an "AI transformation" and stated that "AI has fundamentally changed how work gets done across many industries and businesses." Staff in internal chat groups observed that the version sent to employees in China used the phrase "global transformation" instead and omitted the second sentence.

Employees asked the chief executive whether the wording change related to a recent Chinese court ruling that awarded compensation to a worker replaced by AI. The chief executive replied that different jurisdictions have different legal and regulatory requirements, which is why some communications may vary by country.

A spokesperson said the language of internal communications has no bearing on the company's obligations to employees, which remain constant regardless of geography. Employees described low morale after three months of waiting for information. One staff member in Sydney said anxiety had shifted to sadness and that people had deferred holidays and major purchases during the uncertainty.

Another employee in Germany said leadership communications lacked clear guidance on future product plans. The union representing the tech workers presented a petition signed by nearly 600 employees last week calling for fair redundancy packages, transparency, and genuine consultation.