Atlassian is following Block’s lead and cutting employees in the name of artificial intelligence

Australian productivity software company Atlassian has laid off workers as the company looks to shift more money into artificial intelligence.

Atlassian announced it would cut 10% of its workforce, about 1,600 people, on March 11. The company said that this decision allows it to spend more money on artificial intelligence and enterprise sales and strengthen its financial resources.

More specifically, Atlassian said it is doing well but is choosing to adapt to market conditions.

“The bar for what ‘great’ looks like for software companies has risen — in terms of growth, profitability, speed, and value creation,” Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brooks wrote in a press release regarding the layoffs.

TechCrunch has reached out to Atlassian for more information on what types of roles have been cut and what happens next. Atlassian declined to comment after the release.

This news comes just a few weeks after a similar, albeit more radical, statement made by Block CEO Jack Dorsey. In February, the payments company announced it was laying off more than 4,000 employees, nearly half of its 10,000 employees at the time.

Dorsey said the cuts were driven by the fact that AI could automate much of the work those employees were doing, and he predicted that many other companies would come to the same conclusion.

Several enterprise-focused venture capital firms have predicted to TechCrunch that 2026 will be the year that AI will start taking a toll on employment.

So far, their expectations have come true.