Mike Cannon-Brookes, the billionaire co-founder of Atlassian, told investors last month “we’re building a bloody great business” as Australia’s largest listed technology company reported revenue growth of more than 20 per cent and 5mn customers using its new AI product.
Last week, the tone was markedly different as Atlassian cut 10 per cent of its staff after already pausing hiring outside its AI and enterprise sales divisions.
“Things have changed,” Cannon-Brookes wrote in a blog post published 20 minutes before 1,600 employees found out they would be let go. “The bar for what ‘great’ looks like for software companies . . . has gone up.”