SAP Tightens Belt on Travel and Hiring While Plotting 200-Agent AI Future

SAP slashes travel and hiring to fund AI, retrains staff for AI roles, aims for 200+ AI agents by 2026, while stock remains volatile.

The software giant is pursuing a two-speed strategy: slashing discretionary spending on travel and external hires to free up cash for artificial intelligence, while simultaneously overhauling its leadership structure to embed AI across every business line. The unusual combination of cost controls and bold transformation has left investors parsing what it means for margins and growth in the second half of the year.

SAP confirmed on Thursday that it is applying greater scrutiny to new hires, external consulting fees and internal business travel, a move first reported by Bloomberg. A spokesman said the company wants to deploy resources where they deliver the most long-term value for customers, which means funneling more money toward AI skills and AI talent. Customer-facing activities and critical AI projects remain fully supported, he added.

The approach marks a sharp departure from the restructuring programme launched in 2024, which eliminated thousands of jobs. This time SAP is trying to avoid redundancies by retraining staff to become AI managers who will oversee the new autonomous systems, rather than letting them go. The company has already replaced the bulk of those old roles with thousands of technical specialists.

That retraining push is part of a far more radical vision. By the third quarter of 2026, SAP aims to have more than 200 AI agents integrated into its own business processes, with the goal of eventually having software replace most manual coding. To make that happen, the group has carved out two new power centres: Philipp Herzig takes charge of the new business AI platform, while Manoj Swaminathan leads the autonomous suite covering finance and HR. Both report directly to chief executive Christian Klein, and Michael Ameling has left the company in the reshuffle. Klein also took direct control of key development areas on 1 July under a newly created product organisation.

The internal austerity measures are being tested against an unusually supportive external environment. Guggenheim recently upgraded US rivals Salesforce and ServiceNow to “buy”, arguing that fears of AI-driven job cuts hurting software subscription revenues are overblown. That positive read-across helped lift SAP shares, which closed at €140.88 on 1 July. A day later the stock rose a further 1.06% to €141.66, bringing the weekly gain to 8.12%.

Yet the longer-term picture remains painful. The shares have shed 29.87% since the start of the year and are down 43.91% over twelve months. They still trade 46.74% below the 52-week high of €266.00 reached in July 2025, and just 8.30% above the 52-week low of €130.80 set in late June. The stock is well below both its 50-day moving average of €146.45 and its 200-day moving average of €181.53, with annualised 30-day volatility running at 45.58%.

JPMorgan analyst Toby Ogg remains sceptical about the near-term payoff. He rates SAP “neutral” with a price target of €175, and warned that the margin trajectory priced in by the market is too optimistic because it still relies on assumptions made before the AI wave. Ogg also noted that the company may need significant investment and acquisitions to stay competitive.

Investors are now waiting for the second-quarter earnings report to get concrete details on the AI investment programme. The company is currently in a quiet period and has not yet addressed questions about the hiring freeze, which adds to the uncertainty. The Asia-Pacific region has also seen a change, with Verena Siow taking over to drive cloud sales from Singapore.

For now SAP’s stock is a fragile indicator of what might come next. The belt-tightening on travel and hiring is meant to fund the AI expansion, but it also signals that management sees little room for error in a market that has already punished the stock heavily. The 200-agent deadline in Q3 2026 looms as the ultimate proof point that the radical restructuring is more than just an announcement.