‘I’m in absolute shock’: Atlassian’s storied culture tested as staff reel over job cuts
The Sydney software giant was renowned for its people-first culture, generous perks and ‘open company, no BS approach’. But last week’s job cuts follow months of internal unrest.
On the morning of 12 March, Atlassian employees around the world opened their laptops to find an email telling them whether they still had jobs. For many, what stung was not the news itself but the suggestion that performance had played a role in who was cut.
CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes announced the 10% reduction in staff — roughly 1,600 roles — in a company blog post published that morning, framing the decision as necessary to “self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales.”
The approach to selecting who would go, he wrote, focused on “retaining Atlassians with the skills to help us thrive as an AI-first company — this included strong performers, graduates, and Atlassians with transferable skills.”
The implication was clear enough. If the company had retained strong performers, those it had let go were not.
