This week in CX has seen huge potential takeover news, with Google considering making a move for Hubspot.
Elsewhere, SAP's so-called "transformation" has been slammed by staff reps, Gartner has discouraged companies from viewing AI as a replacement for human agents, and Five9 has bolstered its integration with Zendesk to enhance agent experiences.
Will Google Takeover HubSpot?
Google parent Alphabet has drafted in advisers as it mulls over an offer for CRM software giant HubSpot, according to Reuters’ sources.
A possible bid would likely be Alphabet’s largest acquisition ever, given HubSpot’s market cap of $33.95BN – as of April 2024.
Yet, it already has the funds freed up, with Reuters noting that Alphabet reported a “cash pile” of $110.9BN at the end of 2023.
One possible blocker is the increased regulatory scrutiny of the tech sector in the US – which may cause reservations, as Google already faces several antitrust cases.
Indeed, that has been a critical discussion point in Alphabet’s meeting with Morgan Stanley investment bankers – as per Reuter’s sources – with those conversations happening “in recent days”.
However, Google could argue that the acquisition will allow them to increase competition in the sales and marketing spaces – currently under siege by Salesforce and Microsoft.
Either way, those conversations may be make or break as rumors of Google’s possible bid swirl (Read on...).
Staff Reps Slam SAP’s Restructure as 4,100 European Jobs Hang In the Balance
AP’s European Workers Council has slammed the tech giant’s planned restructure in an email leaked to Handelsblatt, a German Newspaper.
The email also shared that 4,100 of the 8,000 impacted jobs will come from its European remit, with 2,600 based in Germany.
SAP will likely notify most of the affected employees within the coming weeks.
In January, SAP announced the plan to eliminate 8,000 roles but reskill many of the affected workers for the age of AI and offer them new roles.
At the time, Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, told investors during an earnings call:
It is important to be clear this workforce transformation will include a restructuring component. We intend to allocate roughly €2 billion for this.
Yet, the Workers Council has now hit back, claiming that the move is more about workforce reductions than “transformation”.