SAP plans to cut 8,000 jobs as part of a restructuring program. The group wants to compensate for these cuts with investments in other areas, particularly in artificial intelligence for businesses.
SAP wants to develop its activity in the field of artificial intelligence and eliminate numerous positions. In its press release, the German software giant presents its objectives for the coming years. In 2025, the company wants to achieve an operating profit of 10 billion euros and a free cash flow of 8 billion euros. To do this, the company is increasingly focusing on “core strategic growth areas”, in particular AI for business.
8,000 jobs affected
At the same time, the group decided to cut supplies in other sectors. According to the press release, a “restructuring program” is underway across the company, which is expected to affect 8,000 positions, or nearly 8% of the overall workforce. For most of these jobs, “volunteer programs and internal retraining will be implemented,” writes SAP without giving further details.
The cuts will be distributed globally, SAP boss Christian Klein said at a press conference. SAP did not reveal which areas of the company would be specifically affected. The staff cuts are expected to bring in around 500 million euros. This is despite SAP wanting to bring the number of its employees back to its current level by the end of 2024 by investing in other areas, including AI. IT automation and investment in AI aim to increase the efficiency of SAP employees, said Christian Klein. Who hopes to reap the benefits of the targeted efficiency from 2025.
The German software publisher had already cut 3,000 jobs in 2023. The total number of employees, however, increased last year, from 106,312 to 107,602 people, according to data communicated during the latest results. financial of the group. The latter recorded an operating profit of 5.785 billion euros (IFRS) in 2023, which corresponds to a slight decline of 5% compared to the previous year. SAP further confirmed that AI and other new features will be reserved for cloud versions of its software in the future.