Atlassian's 're-leveling' layoffs lead to NLRB complaint over illegal firing
Atlassian, an enterprise collaboration software company, is in hot water after firing engineer Denise Unterwurzacher for openly criticizing CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes's "re-leveling" plan in a company Slack channel following an AMA video call.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) says this move broke labor laws that protect employees who speak up about management decisions.
Layoffs affected about 1,600 employees across the globe
This NLRB complaint comes just after Atlassian cut 10% of its workforce (1,600 people) in March 2026 to double down on AI and enterprise sales.
About half of affected workers in Washington state were in engineering or data science roles, with layoffs affecting employees across multiple regions including North America, Australia and India.
Cannon-Brookes unveiled the controversial 're-leveling' plan during an AMA
The CEO announced the "re-leveling" strategy from the Utah Jazz headquarters (a basketball team he co-owns), which sparked even more debate among employees about leadership priorities.