Shares of SAP SE jumped 7% to an all-time high after the German software firm forecast growth in cloud revenue and said it will restructure roles for 8,000 jobs to focus on growth in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven business areas.

The company said it will spend 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) on the programme to either retrain employees with AI skills or to replace them through voluntary redundancy programmes.

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SAP started experimenting with OpenAI’s ChatGPT as soon as the generative AI technology started gaining traction. The German company now expects GenAI to fundamentally change its business and has pledged to invest more than $1 billion by backing AI-powered technology startups.

“Even if some employees are likely to fall by the wayside, HR policy is less of a cost issue and more of a strategic one, in which many new opportunities are also likely to arise,” said investment strategist, Jürgen Molnar at RoboMarkets.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2024.

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