WiseTech says it is taking its time to ensure 'right decisions' are made
WiseTech Global is facing employee backlash as the tech firm delayed consultations with employees over redundancies that it announced in February, according to reports.
The ASX-listed company previously announced that it would be eliminating up to 2,000 jobs, or almost 30% of its workforce, as the company embraces AI.
"Individually, people can do far, far more work with AI than they could have done nine months ago," said WiseTech executive chairman Richard White in February.
But months later and the redundancies are still delayed, with the Australian Financial Review reporting that WiseTech extended consultation deadlines and ignored union emails discussing the plan.
Earlier this week, a Sydney-based software engineer called out the company on Microsoft Teams for moving consultations planned for 18 May to 25 May.
Communications about the delay were supposed to happen on 8 May, and had not occurred until 12 May, when the employee called it out.
"I cannot, in good conscience, keep this information to myself any longer," the employee said.
"This delay is likely to have a severe impact on many of our colleagues who are already deeply affected by the extremely drawn-out process we find ourselves in. These are real lives and families being affected. We are human."
WiseTech CEO Zubin Appoo responded to the message saying they want to "ensure that the right decisions are being made - not rushed decisions."
"I understand other companies may have acted more swiftly - and I won't be drawn into comparisons with what they did, other than to say again that we are focusing on doing this with quality - and empowering leaders to make decisions is a critical step in that process," he added.
But another employee pointed out that proactive communication, transparency, and timeliness are parts of a high-quality process.
"If you believe this couldn't have been executed any better, I believe your expectations are not high enough from the company and its senior management," the employee added.
The company maintained that the process "takes time to work through."
"Because this is true organisational transformation, and not a cost-cutting exercise, it takes time to work through the process of redesigning our future portfolios," the spokesperson said.
"At this stage, no final decisions have been made about any individual roles. We recognise that a process of this scale, nature and complexity creates uncertainty for our people."
The situation underscores the value of transparency in change management moves, including retrenchments.
Emily Shoemark, director at Snedden, Hall and Gallop Lawyers, previously told HRD Australia that "communication is so important" in any workforce change.
"While employees don't need to know the ins and outs of the accounts and the basis of the decision, it can really help the process to make sure communication is really consistent and clear," Shoemark said.
