Europe’s biggest software company is tightening its belt to chase artificial intelligence. SAP is freezing most hiring and pausing non-essential travel, all to free up cash for its AI push.
The plan landed in an internal email to staff on Wednesday evening. Bloomberg saw the memo, and SAP confirmed the move to The Register. Going forward, the company will “exclusively focus new hiring on selected profiles only, mainly core AI roles.” Internal travel unrelated to AI development is on hold. The German giant will also squeeze spending with suppliers.
Save here, spend there
The logic is a straight trade-off. “As AI reshapes the future of our industry, we are making significant investments,” the executive board wrote. “By balancing where we invest and where we save, we ensure that SAP remains strong, competitive, and well-positioned for the long term.” A spokesperson stressed that customer-facing work and critical AI projects stay fully funded.
SAP is not alone in the squeeze. Rivals that sell software subscriptions have been cutting for two years. Oracle is shedding tens of thousands of jobs to pay for AI data centres. Salesforce faces the same pressure, and Microsoft has dressed up buyouts as benefits. The pattern is the same everywhere: turn payroll into AI budget.
