WiseTech Global to Cut 2,000 Coding Roles in Massive AI Transformation

The global logistics technology landscape reached a definitive turning point this week as WiseTech Global, the developer of the industry-standard Cargowise platform, announced it would eliminate roughly 2,000 engineering roles. The decision, which impacts more than a quarter of the company’s 7,000-strong workforce across 40 countries, signals a radical shift in how supply chain software is built and maintained. Chief Executive Zubin Appoo delivered a stark message to the industry during an earnings briefing, declaring that the era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is effectively over. This move positions WiseTech as one of the first major enterprise software providers to explicitly replace a significant portion of its human development capacity with artificial intelligence.

The timing of the announcement is particularly striking given WiseTech’s robust top-line performance. The company reported a 76% increase in first-half revenue to $672 million, driven by the continued dominance of its Cargowise platform and the integration of recent acquisitions. However, statutory net profit fell 36% to $106.4 million, a decline largely attributed to the costs associated with the acquisition of supply chain software provider e2Open. By pivoting to an AI-first engineering model now, WiseTech appears to be leveraging its strong cash flow—which grew 31% to $192.3 million—to fund a structural transformation that it believes will ensure long-term competitiveness and agility.

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The company reported a 76% increase in first-half revenue to $672 million, driven by the continued dominance of its Cargowise platform and the integration of recent acquisitions.

Industry context suggests that WiseTech’s move is a direct response to emerging competitive threats and a rapidly changing narrative around AI. The company noted the influence of Algorhythm Holdings and its SemiCab platform, which recently claimed the ability to scale customer volumes by up to 400% without increasing headcount. Such claims have sent ripples through the technology sector, shifting the perception of AI from a tool for incremental efficiency to a force of fundamental industry disruption. For WiseTech, which serves over 17,000 freight forwarders and logistics providers, the transition to AI agents within Cargowise is no longer a pilot project but a core survival strategy. The company had already begun integrating AI agents into its platform last year, and this mass layoff represents the full-scale execution of that roadmap.