August 9, 2026
AIte my expense report
Software Giant SAP Stops Most Travel and Hiring Because of AI's Soaring Cost
Even SAP workers are side-eyeing the AI bill as travel gets axed and hiring dries up
TLDR: SAP has reportedly frozen most travel and hiring while protecting spending tied to artificial intelligence, showing how costly the boom has become even for huge companies. Commenters turned it into roast material, joking that AI now controls the budget and may be draining money faster than it saves it.
SAP, one of the world’s biggest business software companies, has reportedly slammed the brakes on most travel and hiring while it pours money into artificial intelligence, or AI — the technology behind chatbots and image generators. According to an internal email cited by 404 Media, only AI-related hiring, customer trips, and AI training get a pass. That alone was enough to send the comment section into full “the robots ate the budget” mode.
The loudest reaction was disbelief mixed with mockery. One commenter boiled the whole thing down to a brutal one-liner: AI is now making the budget decisions. Another went even harder, joking that SAP seems to be using AI to run the company, and AI has decided to give all the money... to AI. Ouch. That joke clearly hit a nerve, because it captures the fear hanging over the thread: this flashy new tech is not magically saving cash — it may be burning through it so fast that ordinary workers are paying the price.
And then came the pure hater energy. One commenter asked if AI might finally be the thing that kills SAP, while another sneered, “Like their systems aren’t shitty enough.” So yes, the mood is less “future of innovation” and more expensive corporate obsession spiraling into self-parody. The story isn’t just that SAP is tightening its belt — it’s that the internet is watching a giant company do it for AI, and laughing nervously the whole time.
Key Points
- •SAP suspended most travel and hiring last month, with exceptions mainly for AI-related travel and hires, according to an internal email obtained by 404 Media.
- •Bloomberg previously reported on the email and freezes in July.
- •A current SAP employee told 404 Media that the travel and hiring restrictions were still in effect.
- •The employee said the issue was raised again in a recent global employee meeting and that SAP is rolling out a new AI tool across the company.
- •The article says rising AI costs are leading some companies to restrict AI use and cut spending elsewhere rather than realizing immediate cost savings.