SUSE to Cut About 10% of Its Global Workforce, Citing Automation and AI

In the memo, sent to staff on Monday, November 2, chief executive Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen said the company was "announcing a reduction of SUSE's global workforce of approximately 10 percent." The Register puts SUSE's headcount at roughly 1,900, which implies about 190 roles. The company has not said which functions, teams or countries will be affected.

"What is clear is that automation and AI are fundamentally shifting how software companies operate," van Leeuwen wrote, according to The Register. He said "the requirement for some existing roles has greatly diminished" and that "modern tooling is already changing our daily workflows." He told employees the cuts were a "reflection of shifting organizational needs, not your talent or commitment."

The memo does not put a figure on any productivity gains from AI, and it does not explain which tools have reduced the need for the affected roles.

Timeline for Staff

According to the memo, as reported by The Register and heise, affected employees will be told by November 4 and employee representatives will be nominated on November 5. One-to-one meetings begin the following week. The rest of the company will be briefed on SUSE's fiscal 2027 strategy on November 16.

The compulsory cuts follow a round of voluntary separation offers made to longer-serving staff in September. The Register reports that not enough employees accepted, which led the company to move to forced reductions. The publication also notes that SUSE staff in the Czech Republic have joined a trade union.

Ownership and Possible Sale

SUSE was founded in 1992 in Fürth, Germany, and sells enterprise Linux and related infrastructure software. Swedish private equity firm EQT bought it from Micro Focus in 2018 for $2.5 billion. The company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2021, and EQT took it private again in 2023. Van Leeuwen, a former Red Hat executive, became chief executive that year.

In March, Reuters reported that EQT was considering selling SUSE, and heise says a price of up to $6 billion was discussed. Neither SUSE nor EQT has confirmed a sale process.

Why It Matters

SUSE is the latest established software vendor to tie job cuts directly to AI, not to weak demand or cost pressure. The memo's argument is that AI tooling has made some existing jobs less necessary, so headcount is falling while the business carries on. For enterprise buyers, the immediate question is whether support and engineering capacity behind SUSE's products changes. The company has not addressed that. For a private equity owner reportedly weighing an exit, a smaller workforce justified by automation also makes the business look more efficient to potential buyers. The memo itself does not mention any sale.

SUSE has not disclosed the expected cost savings, severance terms or a breakdown of the cuts by location.