Workers facing redundancy at WiseTech Global will be barred from joining four specific rival companies for 12 months, after the Australian technology firm narrowed its non-compete clause following union pressure.

Almost 200 Australian-based WiseTech staff were slated for redundancies last week, three months after the logistics software maker announced it would axe around 2,000 jobs during a two-year, AI-focused restructure.

Professionals Australia, the union representing WiseTech employees, had raised concerns over WiseTech’s proposed non-compete clause and pushed for it to be removed entirely from redundancy contracts.

Non-compete clauses are not unusual in the technology industry, as companies see them as a way to protect their intellectual property, projects, and client bases from being taken to competitors by former employees.

While WiseTech did not agree to the removal of its non-compete terms, a company spokesperson said the firm agreed to narrow their scope to specific companies.

The four firms WiseTech will bar former employees from joining are Expedient Software, Clear.ai, TradeWindow, and Yojee, Information Age understands.

Though all four companies are smaller than WiseTech, they are all key competitors which design software for logistics work such as shipping and warehousing.

A WiseTech spokesperson said, “We agreed to limit the application of the standard restraint that our Australian employees had agreed to in their employment agreements to only a small number of companies, providing exiting employees more flexibility in seeking future employment.”

‘Broad non-compete clauses can have a chilling effect’

Professionals Australia director Paul Inglis told Information Age that while the organisation welcomed WiseTech’s narrowing of its non-compete clause, the union believes employees “should be free to take up employment in their profession without unnecessary restrictions”.

"Workers should not have to choose between accepting a redundancy package and limiting their future employment options,” he said.

“The tech sector depends on the free movement of skilled professionals, and broad non-compete clauses can have a chilling effect on innovation, competition, and workers' bargaining power.”

The change to workers’ contracts comes after WiseTech’s handling of its "deep AI transformation” angered some staff, with its CEO allegedly threatened with violence in recent weeks.

While WiseTech has dominated logistics software domestically, it has seen competition from smaller rivals – including some relying more heavily on AI.

The company acquired one of the four blacklisted firms, Expedient Software, in August 2025, but agreed to divest it in December of that year following pressure from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The watchdog was concerned about the effect on competition, and said WiseTech had completed its acquisition before the regulator could conduct its own review.

WiseTech, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) with a market capitalisation of around $13 billion, has seen its stock price drop by around 60 per cent over the past 12 months.

Government seeks to abolish non-competes

The federal government announced in March 2025 that it plans to abolish non-compete clauses from 2027 for those earning under $180,000 per annum, including so-called “no-poach” agreements which block staff from being hired by competitors.

Following consultations, legislation is expected to be tabled in parliament later this year.

Tech Council of Australia, which represents technology companies and counts WiseTech among its members, pushed back against the government’s plans in its submission to consultations earlier this year.

“At present, where non-competes are present, they form part of the overall employment contract with the employee, in which employees are paid well for their employment,” the organisation wrote.

Federal Treasury previously found in a technical paper released in November 2025 that, “While non-competes may be linked to higher wages in a subset of high-productivity firms, for most workers, these clauses appear to restrict labour market mobility without any clear positive association with wages.”