Australian logistics software giant WiseTech Global is facing mounting anger from employees after workers discovered the company removed references to artificial intelligence from redundancy emails sent to staff in China, while openly citing AI-driven transformation in communications elsewhere, according to the guardian.
The ASX-listed company announced in February that it would cut nearly 2,000 jobs, close to 30% of its 7,000-strong global workforce spread across 40 countries. After nearly three months of uncertainty, employees have now been told they will learn on Monday whether they are among those being made redundant.
Staff outside China received an email titled “Our AI Transformation – next steps”, signed by chief executive Zubin Appoo, co-founder and executive chairman, Richard White, and co-founder, Maree Isaacs.
The email described AI as “a significant inflection point in WiseTech’s history”.
“AI has fundamentally changed how work gets done across many industries and businesses. Software development is not disappearing, but the way software is built is changing rapidly,” the email said.
But employees based in China received a different version titled “Our global transformation – next steps”, with all references to AI removed.
The discrepancy quickly triggered backlash across internal company chats, with workers accusing leadership of tailoring its messaging to avoid potential legal consequences under Chinese labour laws.
“Changing the content of just one email seems quite confusing,” one employee said. “We have several emails that can demonstrate it was an AI layoff.”
“Zubin can you please clearly explain what legal law prevented you from using AI in the China email when you have been clear throughout past three months that these redundancies are due to AI?” another employee wrote.
Legal concerns
The controversy comes weeks after a Chinese court reportedly awarded compensation equivalent to almost A$53,000 to a worker who was dismissed after being replaced by AI systems.
Under Chinese labour regulations, companies face strict limits on dismissing employees due to AI adoption, with workers potentially entitled to significantly higher severance payments if terminations are deemed unlawful.
Appoo defended the differing communications in replies seen by staff.
“Yes, China received a different email – I think that is clear from my response. Assuming we did that in a secretive way is ridiculous – you are all in teams together and you all know each other. And yes, different jurisdictions have different legal and regulatory requirements.”
A WiseTech spokesperson later echoed the same explanation.
“The language used in internal communications has no bearing on the obligations we have to our employees in this process, which remain constant regardless of geography,” the spokesperson said.
“We are committed to fulfilling these obligations and treating our employees fairly and respectfully.”
Morale collapse
Behind the legal tension lies a workforce increasingly exhausted by months of uncertainty.
Employees say morale inside WiseTech has deteriorated sharply as workers wait for redundancy decisions while continuing to meet business demands.
“I still remember being proud telling people what the company stood for and how amazing it was to work here,” one employee said in an internal chat.
“Throughout this process I’ve watched good hardworking friends and colleagues have to resort to hallway whispers and gossip to find out clues about their fate at the company, that’s not transparency.”
A Sydney-based employee described the emotional toll of the prolonged process.
“It has been three months of stress and checking his inbox every morning waiting to find out,” the employee said.
“Now that we know when, the anxiety has shifted into something else. More like sadness.”
“Not that long ago people were genuinely proud to work here … and it took a few days to destroy that completely.”
The employee added that many staff had delayed holidays, property purchases and even starting families while waiting to learn whether they would still have jobs.
Another employee based in Germany said leadership had effectively disappeared during the crisis.
“Our leadership is ghosting their complete reporting line and hiding behind Zubin’s emails – which are anything other than clear and specific,” the employee said.
“Everything has come to a halt now because people do not know what the future will bring and what they should do now since there is no clear guidance or vision for the products involved.”
AI anxiety
Internal tensions escalated further this week after WiseTech executives circulated articles discussing how AI could replace white-collar workers.
One article shared internally carried the headline: “Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI”.
Employees reacted furiously, arguing the messaging was deeply insensitive while thousands feared for their livelihoods.
“Sharing articles that call ‘white collar work’ – our jobs – ‘completely redundant in 18 months’ without any additional commentary is distasteful given the stress we are all going through,” one software developer wrote.
One insider claimed a colleague suffered a panic attack after reading the messages, having reportedly already been hospitalised for a similar episode earlier.
Appoo later urged staff to stop what he described as disrespectful conduct in internal discussions.
“Let me be direct. You are entitled to feel uncertain, frustrated, or concerned about the changes underway … What is not acceptable, and will not be tolerated, is personal attacks, derogatory language, racist remarks, or abusive behaviour directed at colleagues or leaders,” he wrote.
“All – stop with the disrespectful tone, messages and emojis,” Appoo wrote later that evening.
“No company of size allows people to post messages or email all staff. We would be well within our rights to delete this entire post too given the disrespectful messages, including racist comments, but I am choosing not to.”
Employees involved in the discussions said no racist or abusive remarks had appeared in the threads.
Union pressure
Union director Paul Inglis said the situation showed the human cost of rapid AI-driven restructuring.
“This is what AI disruption looks like on the ground and workers are terrified,” Inglis said.
“In just eight weeks, union membership at WiseTech has surged over 30 per cent of the technical workforce. That sends a clear message: workers do not feel protected navigating this change alone.”
“Big tech cannot be allowed to reshape the workforce without accountability. Enough is enough.”
Inglis added that employees were being asked to continue performing at full capacity while simultaneously being told their jobs may soon be automated.
“These are the engineers who built WiseTech’s success and they’re now facing job cuts without transparency or fairness,” he said.
The dispute has also intensified pressure from tech workers’ union Professionals Australia, which says more than 590 employees have now signed a petition demanding fair redundancy packages, transparency and genuine consultation.