Thread regarding SAP layoffs

@dy Gina has largely been the most ineffective and absent HR exec board member in SAP history. She is clearly needed by CK to execute without creating issues and criticizing.

@ka Hungary had a choice between two right wing conservatives. Orban may be gone but the other guy is also a hard core right wing conservative. He only supports Ukraine and the EU. Every other policy he has is similar to other conservatives in Europe. Remember that he used to be part of Orban's party but wanted more power and that is why he left. So I wouldn't be so positive anytime soon.

However, this also relates to SAP layoffs. Because of favorable conditions, SAP is planning to invest more in Eastern European countries because of low salaries and benefits. And SAP will fire employees in high cost locations in Western Europe. The only exception are colleagues in Walldorf and Sankt Leon Rot who are too well connected to ever be fired from this company.

@jf, In that case, they might be hoping in vain, since the European winds might be shifting significantly (at least judging by the Hungarian elections.) But to stay on point, I agree - they should have been fired long ago.

@j6 Lol no. If this were an American company, they would be funding the conservative elections and would get billions in handouts from taxpayers for their tomfoolery. But maybe they're hoping to do that here in Germany as AfD is bound to win the next election with a supermajority.

@hy if this was an American company they would be long gone..

CK and DA should be fired at this point.

@fk Agreed, we see 10€ decrease every one or two weeks recently... That's a rapid decline that should be addressed.
Let's just hope it will be done fairy.

So the sh!t show that has been his leadership of doing the worst possible cloud migration is going to be difficult for his sh!t show migration to ai using cobbled together cr@p from IBM whilst hobbling the teams actually innovating with ai by making them redundant

Status quo from here will result in stock price decline. I am expecting Oracle like layoffs in 2026.

Well! I think that its not a warning!

CK has presided over the debacle thus far. We had a half -assed plan for data. that we now know was missing a key software process (Hence Reltio being acquired). Joule is not fit for purpose and difficult to work with: SAP teams on site helping clients to build and install - That’s a pretty damning statement right there! Our clients are (At a minimum) very suspicious of our AI offerings.

This also comes at least 4 months after large clients slammed Joule to in candid conversations with one of our investors and a partner. I’m not going to mention interbal changes at SAP here - We know that those will be extensive AND extensively mishandled. Gotta love the cloud transition is in the past suggestion too!

It’s a very late admission of sc--w ups wrapped up in corporate jargon and the rhetoric of our very own pseudo - tech seer. Embarrassing!

Headline & Core Message
SAP CEO Christian Klein warns employees: The company’s AI transition will be as painful as its earlier shift to cloud computing.
Klein is being upfront with staff that the ongoing AI overhaul won't be smooth or easy. He compares it directly to SAP’s multi-year cloud migration, which required a major overhaul of:

Products
Sales approaches
Internal operations

He says a similar transformation is now happening as SAP integrates AI across its software, business processes, and how the company operates overall.
Key Context from the Article

The AI shift will reshape how employees work, how products are built, and how customers use SAP’s services.
This warning comes right after (or around the same time as) SAP’s decision to extend Chief People Officer Gina Vargiu-Breuer’s contract through January 2030, despite the recent bonus system backlash.
Chairman Pekka Ala-Pietilä defended the extension, saying Vargiu-Breuer has strengthened workforce management — which is seen as critical for handling the people side of the AI transition (reskilling, motivation, cultural change).

The article also briefly references the internal tensions we discussed earlier: the flawed bonus/compensation plan that frustrated many employees, the drop in trust, and SAP setting aside millions to fix it.
Broader Picture (Connecting to Recent News)
This fits into SAP’s aggressive AI push:

Klein has been talking about AI as a full reinvention — not just adding features, but changing pricing (moving toward AI consumption-based models), creating new “forward deployed” engineering teams, and reallocating/rewarding employees differently.
The cloud transition years ago was indeed painful for SAP (long sales cycles, product rewrites, internal resistance), so Klein is setting realistic (or sobering) expectations that AI will demand similar levels of disruption.

In short: Klein is signaling “This will hurt in the short term — jobs, skills, and ways of working will change — but it’s necessary.” At the same time, the company is prioritizing HR leadership continuity to manage the human impact.
The Implicit “Warning” for Employees & Observers
Tying back to your previous question about the “warning” in the bonus/contract story:

This AI-pain message + protecting the CPO despite the recent HR controversy sends a combined signal:
Big changes and discomfort are coming.
Leadership is doubling down on the current team to drive it through, rather than making changes at the top of HR.

Many employees may read this as: “Brace for disruption, reskilling pressure, and possible role shifts — and the compensation system that already felt unfair stays under the same leadership.”

If you’re an SAP employee (or investor/competitor watching), this is a heads-up that the next few years will involve significant turbulence on the people side, even as the company bets heavily on AI growth.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/sap-ceo-christian-klein-warns-employees-companys-ai-transition-would-be-as-painful-as-its-shift-to-/articleshow/130183782.cms

CK's bosses at McKinsey have asked him to lay off as many people as possible and use the millions saved as bonuses for executives and paying consultancies such as McKinsey.