Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes has defended the sacking of 150 people via a pre-recorded video, blaming the media for the backlash.
Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes has defended sacking of 150 people via a pre-recorded video and railed against the media's “cycle of bulls**t” in covering the controversial move.Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes has defended the sacking of 150 people via a pre-recorded video, blaming the media for the backlash.
The mass sackings came as the software giant seeks to prioritise new artificial intelligence technology. The software giant has also quietly bought American AI-powered search engine The Browser Company for almost $1 billion, its largest acquisition ever. CEO of Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes at the National Press Club in Canberra, 2025. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman It is understood staff received a pre-recorded video from Mr Cannon-Brookes on July 30 explaining that some of their jobs would soon be replaced by AI. Mr Cannon-Brookes, 45, defended the move and told The Sydney Morning Herald pre-recorded video messages were “the way we distribute stuff”. The Atlassian CEO and green crusader did not name who would be axed and impacted staff reportedly had to wait 15 minutes for an email about their fate. Mr Cannon-Brookes said the video message was sent to employees across different time zones and was not in conflict of the company’s values, which included “open company, no bulls**t”. He argued pre-recorded videos"communicate humanity, they communicate people’s feelings, they enable you to connect,” he said. “I would argue that an email, which is the standard way of doing things, is a far worse way of doing this than a video message that has a person who is there talking, and you can reply with comments and questions and reactions.”He added the company also engaged in"one-on-one conversations with every single person who’s affected". The Atlassian CEO urged people not to “believe everything you read” and insisted the company’s morale was something he was “pretty good”.Mr Cannon-Brookes, who is worth an estimated $USD13.9 billion, has increasingly turned to investing his colossal wealth in eco-friendly projects, including an ambitious project to build an undersea cable between Darwin and Singapore to deliver solar-generated electricity. the CEO defended his decision to purchase a Bombardier 7500, an aircraft believed to cost upwards of US$75m
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