{"slug": "wisetech-reports-productivity-surge-amid-workforce-reductions", "title": "WiseTech reports productivity surge amid workforce reductions", "summary": "WiseTech Global reported a 76% revenue jump to $672 million in half-year results and an 11.1% share price climb, attributing productivity gains to AI tools that compress project timelines from months to days, even as it cuts nearly 30% of its 7,000-person workforce. CEO Zubin Appoo declared the era of manual coding over, with up to half of the 2,000 job cuts targeting product development and customer service, where AI integration has been most aggressive.", "body_md": "Photo: cottonbro studio / Pexels\n\n# WiseTech reports productivity surge amid workforce reductions\n\nThe Australian logistics software firm says AI has compressed project timelines from months to days as it moves to cut nearly 30% of its global workforce.\n\nWiseTech Global is making a bold, if uncomfortable, argument: fewer people, more output. The Australian logistics software company says its adoption of AI tools has driven measurable productivity gains across product development and customer service, even as it executes a plan to eliminate roughly 2,000 jobs from its 7,000-person workforce.\n\nThe market’s verdict was swift and decisive. Shares climbed 11.1% on the day WiseTech announced the restructuring alongside half-year results showing revenue of $672 million, a 76% jump.\n\n## The scope of the cuts\n\nThe layoffs represent close to 30% of WiseTech’s global headcount and are being rolled out in phases. The first wave, roughly 500 roles, landed in the first half of fiscal year 2026. The remaining reductions are slated for the second half of FY2026 and into FY2027.\n\nUp to half of the cuts are concentrated in product development and customer service, which are the exact areas where AI integration has been most aggressive. CEO Zubin Appoo has been blunt about the company’s direction, declaring that the era of manual coding is effectively over.\n\nThat’s a striking statement from the leader of a company that, just a year earlier, had doubled its workforce to around 7,000 employees across 40 countries following its $2.1 billion acquisition of E2open in 2025. Appoo’s framing centers on a different kind of arithmetic: smaller teams equipped with AI tools, he argues, are now delivering projects in days that previously took months. The initial round of cuts actually generated net cost savings that came in ahead of internal projections.\n\n## AI as the productivity lever\n\nWiseTech began conducting efficiency reviews tied to artificial intelligence in mid-2025, leading to minor job reductions even before the larger restructuring announcement. By the time Appoo went public with the full plan in late February 2026, the company had real data to point to.\n\nRevenue growth of 76% is eye-catching, though a significant portion of that jump came from the E2open acquisition rather than organic expansion alone.\n\n## What this means for the sector\n\nWiseTech operates in logistics technology, building software platforms that help freight forwarders, customs brokers, and shipping companies manage complex global supply chains. Its CargoWise platform supports over 22,000 companies in 193 countries and serves as a critical tool for major freight forwarders.\n\nThe risk is that productivity claims built on early results don’t hold as cuts deepen. Reducing 500 roles is one thing. Eliminating 2,000 across multiple functions and geographies is a different operational challenge entirely, especially when the remaining workforce needs to maintain software quality for clients who depend on WiseTech’s platforms to move goods around the world.\n\n**Disclosure:** This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our\n\n[Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wisetech-reports-productivity-surge-amid-workforce-reductions", "canonical_source": "https://cryptobriefing.com/wisetech-productivity-surge-workforce-cuts/", "published_at": "2026-08-26 01:19:27+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-26 01:43:42.382645+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-products", "ai-tools"], "entities": ["WiseTech Global", "Zubin Appoo", "E2open", "CargoWise"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wisetech-reports-productivity-surge-amid-workforce-reductions", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wisetech-reports-productivity-surge-amid-workforce-reductions.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wisetech-reports-productivity-surge-amid-workforce-reductions.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wisetech-reports-productivity-surge-amid-workforce-reductions.jsonld"}}