SUSE lays off 1 in 10 workers – citing AI and automation

ZDNET’s cardinal takeaways

• The open-source bundle institution announced forthcoming layoffs.
• Leadership cited AI and automation arsenic factors.
• AI-related layoffs are hitting respective tech companies.

According to exclusive reporting by The Register, endeavor Linux supplier SUSE volition laic disconnected 1 successful 10 of its astir 2,000-person workforce owed to “automation and AI,” CEO Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen told unit via email.

Also: How galore jobs is your authorities losing to AI?

Van Leeuwen noted that AI is rapidly changing however bundle companies function.

“AI capabilities are advancing exponentially, forcing america to radically reimagine our work,” helium said, adding that “the organizational plan and outgo basal that SUSE is built connected contiguous volition not transportation america guardant successfully.”

Shifts successful tech enactment

AI is impacting galore parts of the tech industry, including unfastened source. Just past month, Linus Torvalds announced helium had used Claude Code to constitute a Linux patch, which Linux enthusiasts work arsenic an improvement of his stance connected AI.

By immoderate reports, businesses are finally seeing immoderate ROI from AI aft a fewer years of uncertainty. But that remains localized, ironically, to tech itself. As 1 economist recently noted, AI has chiefly accrued gross per worker astatine large tech companies, portion leaving astir different companies unchanged.

The trade-off for that maturation is, astatine slightest successful immoderate cases, layoffs. But layoffs credited to AI successful immoderate mode don’t mean that quality roles are ever being replaced. Last month, Microsoft announced it would bargain retired 60,000 of its workers — immoderate of which are successful its Copilot part — to prioritize AI efforts, though it’s besides apt the institution is reacting to spending a important magnitude of wealth connected AI infrastructure.

Jobloss.ai’s layoff tracker shows chiefly tech companies — including Uber, Salesforce, and GitLab — successful its caller entries, but occupation nonaccomplishment attribution to AI is inactive mixed, and the fig of roles chopped isn’t ever jarringly huge.

It’s besides hard to archer whether a layoff strategically frames pre-AI plans arsenic being owed to AI capabilities oregon is really a effect of them. That question circulated astir Block’s large layoffs earlier this year. Squarespace besides announced layoffs of 19% of its staff yesterday, though institution communications don’t explicitly sanction AI. Still, vibecoding has impacted website builders overall, though Squarespace itself has invested successful AI offerings.

Also: Why replacing unit with AI backfires

Van Leeuwen’s email to unit acknowledged wherever SUSE has already begun to change, though it’s unclear whether helium meant by adopting AI tools internally.

“Across SUSE, modern tooling is already changing our regular workflows, enabling teams to determination faster with little operational overhead and flatter reporting lines. The request for immoderate existing roles has greatly diminished. Other roles volition germinate implicit the adjacent fewer years,” helium said.

Mass layoffs haven’t deed – yet

While respective tech companies person announced highly disposable layoffs this twelvemonth that they’ve besides framed arsenic related to AI, economists hold that the monolithic cross-industry layoff question galore fearfulness has yet to arrive. Gartner adjacent predicts that companies volition really rehire 30% of the employees they tried to regenerate with AI — and astatine a higher outgo — by 2029 if they don’t “overhaul workforce planning.”

Still, AI investments, vibecoding, and shifting priorities are changing the bundle country overall.

Radhika Rajkumar

Senior Editor

Radhika Rajkumar is simply a elder exertion astatine ZDNET based successful New York City. She covers AI, specializing successful safety, privateness and security, policy, education, and synthetic media. She besides leads ZDNET's newsletter strategy. Radhika holds a Masters successful Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism from The New School. See afloat bio