SWEEPING job cuts announced by WiseTech last week are likely to be a sign of things to come in relation to freight and logistics, industry figures say.
Among those who spoke with DCN, there was a view that repetitive roles such as accounting, administrative and operations tasks were “likely to be partially or fully replaced” by AI bots and agents over time.
International Forwarders and Customs Brokers Association of Australia chief executive Scott Carson said the impact of AI would directly impact product development.
“The recent announcement by WiseTech Global... is understood to be contained to product/development and CS roles,” he said.
“Software code writing being one of the first tasks that AI will play a large role in replacing a significant amount of existing labour resources for software businesses internationally, not just at WiseTech.”
A similar view was expressed by MPC International managing director, Peter Creeden, who said the job cuts at WiseTech followed at major tech giants such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) in 2025.
“WiseTech’s move is a reactive step aimed at boosting productivity,” he said.
“This action has the most immediate impact on software development and, perhaps, product management.”
Mr Creeden said a 40% workforce reduction was “the correct and prudent management move” and noted “small incremental cuts of 10%” would “only hurt morale”.
“Some companies (shipping lines) have done this, and it just pushes good people to find the exits early,” he said.
Mr Creeden said the industry would likely see role redesigns and changes to operating models rather than sudden workforce reductions over the next few years as digitalisation progressed.
“The real shifts will not be just about AI adoption, but about whether organisations have established structured data, interoperability, and governance frameworks that enable AI to genuinely improve performance,” he said.
Mr Carson said tasks performed with AI did not mean responsibilities shifted.
In Australia, an individual licensed customs broker who lodges an import FID remains responsible for the accuracy of that process, as does the person who lodges EDNs for exports.
“The use of AI does not absolve those who utilise it in our industry processes from their core accountabilities and responsibilities from a trade based regulatory standpoint,” Mr Carson said.
“New AI-equipped software services in areas such as tariff automation have already started to become available to our international freight forwarder and customs broker members. These initiatives save time and associated cost.”
Freight Trade Alliance director and co-founder Paul Zalai said while AI had its benefits, it also had “clear limitations” when it came to fulfilling the typical tasks of licensed customs brokers.
Mr Zalai said customs brokers, who “sit at the intersection of trade facilitation and border protection” were among the “most critical” in the face of skills shortage and digital disruption across the entire supply chain.
“Against this backdrop, artificial intelligence is emerging as a practical tool to support, but not replace, licensed customs brokers,” he said.
Mr Zalai said the functions of AI technologies included automating data extraction from commercial invoices, packing lists and supporting documents, and identifying inconsistencies or missing information prior to lodgment (reduced rework and delays).
He also said machine learning models could assist in tariff classification by referencing historical rulings and patterns; predictive analytics cou support risk assessment and anomaly detection, while digital systems could enhance record-keeping and audit readiness.
“These capabilities offer meaningful productivity gains in an environment of constrained labour supply,” Mr Zalai said.
“AI systems are only as reliable as the data on which they are trained.”