We want to catch up on our former newsletter where we reported on an Executive Board decision regarding a recurring workforce transformation.
On August 5th and September 1st, 2025, the SE Works Council (Europe) was informed about urgent measures which impact all board areas under the codename “Project Mongoose” in an extraordinary consultation. This project is the implementation of the announcement by Dominik Asam and Christian Klein during the past Q2 Earnings Call, which can be summarized by the headlines of 1-2% reduction of SAP’s global workforce.
The SE Works Council (Europe) expresses its deep concern over the decision to proceed with another wave of redundancies in 2025, marking the second such initiative this year following P24 (“Project 24”) Wave 3. Despite reassurances to the contrary by the Executive Board earlier this year, this development underscores a continued pattern of workforce changes without adequate time to assess the prior transformations. This raises the question: What problems may lie beneath SAP’s Half Year financial figures that have forced the Executive Board to resort to such urgent measures?
While the rationale for Project Mongoose has been framed and presented in terms of adapting to technological change – particularly referencing the effects of AI and location strategy – the actual measures appear to us better aligned with short-term financial targets rather than strategic transformation, wrapped in “lean adjustment” terminology. This paradox between reasoning and actions risks undermining employee trust.
The lack of clarity around projected cost savings, customer impact, AI-related redesign, and location strategy further exacerbates our concerns. We fear these decisions may lead to long-term harm – both talent loss and diminished customer trust. The current lack of transparent and straightforward communication creates uncertainty, which reduces organizational efficiency and erodes confidence in the Executive Board.
The SE Works Council (Europe) urged management to present the reasons for the job cuts in more detail and depth, commit to meaningful reskilling initiatives, and avoid reducing strategic workforce decisions to routine cost-cutting exercises, as to us the current Executive Board decision does not seem to be connected to a discernible logic. Following Project Mongoose and P24, we are worried that SAP and the Executive Board might adopt this practice as another adjustment tool that may be used freely whenever financial targets suggest it.
We remain committed to monitoring the execution process, both from the SE Works Council (Europe) perspective and through the local Employee Representations of the impacted countries. During the consultation process, we have been assured that all impacted employees are treated with respect and dignity and within the legal guarantees of the respective countries. Also, at the end of this consultation, we will keep advocating for a long-term vision that values the expertise and dedication of our workforce. We will come back with more information on this topic in due time.
As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions and look forward to your feedback.