According to a newspaper report, the software manufacturer SAP is expected to cut 2,600 jobs in Germany as part of its announced major restructuring. A spokesman for the group did not comment on the specific figure that emerged from a report in the “Handelsblatt”. So far there has only been talk of a total of 8,000 jobs being affected by the restructuring.
“SAP launched a restructuring program for the entire company in January to focus on strategic growth areas such as Business AI,” said the spokesman. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence.
“This restructuring affects 8,000 jobs. We treat the affected employees with the greatest care and sensitivity, including by offering them internal job alternatives or volunteer programs.” There is close cooperation with the social partners in the respective regions. Most affected employees will therefore be notified in the next few weeks.
Other European countries also affected
The “Handelsblatt” referred to an internal email from SAP’s European works council. The committee therefore criticizes the planned major renovation as a measure that is primarily intended to reduce costs.
The email states that “management did not adequately justify the business logic and did not provide accurate information about inefficiencies,” the newspaper writes. The program name “Next Level Transformation” is a euphemism for workforce reductions.
According to the report, jobs will also be cut in other European countries. Around 4,100 jobs should be eliminated in the area of responsibility of the European works council.
The Schedule
As the SAP spokesman announced, Europe’s largest software manufacturer plans to complete the entire restructuring process worldwide by the end of the first quarter of 2025. “At the same time, we will continue to invest in key growth areas and expect to end 2024 with stable employee numbers.”
The hype surrounding artificial intelligence in the software industry was sparked last year by the release of the ChatGPT dialog system. Since then, all software companies have wanted a piece of the hoped-for big cake and are investing a lot of money in the technology.