Software jobs: SUSE cuts one post in ten and cites AI
SUSE, the Linux company founded in Nuremberg, is cutting about 10 per cent of its roughly 1,900 jobs; in a memo dated 2 November its chief executive, Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen, pointed to automation and AI.
A software company with German roots has explicitly tied job cuts to AI. A justification used mostly by banks and insurers so far has reached the makers of enterprise software themselves.
What happened
In the email to staff, reported by The Register on 2 November, Mr van Leeuwen writes that automation and AI are fundamentally shifting how software companies operate. Modern tools already shape daily work, and the requirement for some existing roles has greatly diminished. After reviewing strategy, required capabilities and team structures, management concluded that the current organisation and cost base are not sustainable. About 10 per cent of roughly 1,900 employees worldwide are affected; Newsbytes puts that at about 190 jobs. SUSE has not said which roles will go. The timetable is tight: staff learn by 4 November whether they are affected, employee representatives are to be named on 5 November and one-to-one meetings start the week after. SUSE plans to present its strategy for fiscal 2027 on 16 November. In September the company had offered voluntary departures to long-serving staff; according to The Register, too few accepted. Assessment: SUSE is owned by EQT, a Swedish private-equity firm which, Reuters reported, was considering another sale in March. How much of the cut stems from AI and how much from the cost base ahead of a possible sale cannot be separated from the outside.
What follows
The case shows a mechanism that reaches beyond SUSE. When tools take over routine work in development, support or administration, software firms look not only at new hiring but at existing teams. Until now the cases in WORTH's AI job tracker came from banking, insurance and telecoms, among them Barclays, Generali and Sunrise. SUSE adds a supplier whose product runs in the very data centres that carry the AI build-out. Staff in Germany are covered by the usual procedures involving employee representatives; whether there will be a redundancy plan or severance is not known. According to The Register, SUSE employees in the Czech Republic have joined a trade union. Assessment: a voluntary scheme that draws too little interest, followed by targeted cuts, is a pattern that larger employers could also follow.
What changes in practice
- Employees
- By 4 November SUSE staff learn whether their job is affected; the company has not said which roles will go.
- Software firms
- SUSE justifies the cuts with tools that reduce the need for some roles. AI is becoming an argument for smaller teams at software makers too.
- Job seekers
- A voluntary exit scheme in September drew too few takers, The Register reports; targeted cuts now follow.
What to watch
- Number and location of affected jobs after 4 November
- Strategy for fiscal 2027, due on 16 November
- Whether EQT revives the sale of SUSE
Sources
- The Register: SUSE to cut one in ten employees because of... AI
- Newsbytes: SUSE cuts 10% of jobs as AI reshapes software industry
- Newsbytes: SUSE to cut about 190 jobs amid AI and automation