Through the restructuring programme, the Germany-based software company aims to revamp its operational setup to leverage organisational synergies, harness AI-driven efficiencies, and to position itself for substantial future revenue growth on a scalable level
SAP to cut 8,000 jobs in €2bn restructuring programme. (Credit: Elekes Andor/Wikimedia Commons)
SAP has revealed plans to implement an approximately €2bn company-wide restructuring programme that will impact nearly 8,000 positions.
The restructuring is aimed to further increase the company’s focus on key strategic growth areas including business artificial intelligence (AI).
Through the programme, the Germany-based software company plans to revamp its operational setup. The goal is to leverage organisational synergies, harness AI-driven efficiencies, and position itself for substantial future revenue growth on a scalable level.
According to SAP, most of the affected roles are likely to be covered by voluntary leave programmes and internal re-skilling measures. The company also intends to exit the current year at a headcount similar to present levels.
Besides, the German software company stated that the restructuring expenses will be reflected mostly in the first half of 2024, which will impact operating profit.
By 2025, SAP anticipates having a cloud revenue of over €21.5bn and a total revenue of more than €37.5bn.
Separately, SAP has reported a huge leap in profit after tax of €1.16bn for the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023), compared to a profit after tax of €326m made in the same quarter of 2022.
The diluted earnings per share of the software company in Q4 2023 has also increased by over 100% to €1.01 from €0.46 reported in Q4 2022.
SAP CEO Christian Klein said: “SAP has delivered: We met or exceeded our outlook for 2023 in all key metrics. Based on a stellar order entry, our current cloud backlog expanded by 27% – an all-time high.
“We are confident about the company’s prospects in 2024. From this position of strength, SAP is opening the next chapter: with the planned transformation program, we are intensifying the shift of investments to strategic growth areas, above all Business AI.”