Atlassian Cuts 1,600 Jobs (10% Workforce) to Self-Fund AI — CTO Split Into Two Roles, 900+ R&D Eliminated

CNBC·high signal

Atlassian announced March 11 it is cutting 1,600 roles — over 900 in software R&D — and replacing CTO Rajeev Rajan with two executives splitting AI and Enterprise responsibilities. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes explicitly stated the goal is to 'self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales,' signaling Atlassian is sacrificing its traditional headcount-driven growth model to fund the AI transition. The restructuring costs $225–236M, largely landing in Q3 FY2026, and coincides with the Rovo AI agent open beta launch in Jira.