German software giant SAP to cut 3,000 jobs

GERMAN software giant SAP on Thursday (Jan 26) said it planned to cut some 3,000 jobs this year, joining a wave of lay-offs in the global tech sector.

The Walldorf-based group, which offers both traditional software and cloud-based computing services, said it planned to carry out a “targeted restructuring programme” to “strengthen its core business” and improve efficiency.

“The programme is expected to affect approximately 2.5 per cent of SAP’s employees,” it said in an earnings report unveiling full-year results for 2022.

SAP has a workforce of around 120,000 employees worldwide, meaning it plans to shed some 3,000 jobs.

The move follows similar cuts announced by tech giants Meta, Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft as the once-unassailable sector girds for an economic downturn.

SAP said its jobs cull would cost the company between 250 and 300 million euros (S$354 million to S$432.7 million), mainly in the first quarter of 2023.

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The restructuring is expected to lead to annual savings of between 300 million and 350 million euros from 2024, “which will help to fuel investments into strategic growth areas”, SAP said.

SAP also said it would explore a sale of its Qualtrics subsidiary, which specialises in online market research software.

A sale would further enable SAP to focus more on its core cloud business, it said.

For the whole of 2022, SAP announced revenues of 30.9 billion euros, up 11 per cent on a year earlier.

Operating profits came in at just over 8 billion euros, down 2 per cent compared with 2021.

For 2023, SAP expects operating profits to increase by 10 per cent to 13 per cent. AFP