NICE CEO Scott Russell Assures No Job Cuts in Israel Despite Stock Decline

Scott Russell, CEO of Israeli software company NICE, remains unfazed by the company’s steep stock decline since he took over 18 months ago. Despite NICE’s shares being the only ones in the Tel Aviv 35 index to finish 2025 with negative returns and a 33% drop on Wall Street, Russell emphasizes the company’s strong fundamentals and growth prospects. He highlights that NICE is on track to exceed $3 billion in revenue this year, with a 10% growth forecast, serving 25,000 customers worldwide including 85% of Fortune 500 companies such as Marriott, Lidl, Lufthansa, and Disney.

Russell attributes the stock’s poor performance partly to investor fears about the so-called "SaaS apocalypse," where AI-driven agents and tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon threaten traditional CRM software models. However, he argues that while building AI agents is easy, scaling them reliably in customer service environments is challenging, and NICE’s 40 years of expertise positions it well to leverage AI effectively. The company recently acquired AI startup Cognigy for $1 billion to integrate voice-based AI agents into its CRM solutions, aiming to transform customer service with hybrid human-AI models.

Since Russell’s appointment, NICE has undergone significant management changes, bringing in executives with deep AI and CRM experience from Disney, Meta, and Microsoft. Despite the stock’s decline and profitability pressures from AI investments, Russell expects operating margins to improve. He also dismisses concerns about cash flow, noting strong operational cash generation and ongoing evaluation of a potential $2 billion sale of the Actimize fraud detection unit.

Importantly, Russell assures that NICE will not reduce its workforce in Israel, where the company maintains a key development center with about 1,000 employees. He stresses that AI adoption is enabling employees to focus on higher-value tasks rather than replacing them. Russell’s first interview since becoming CEO took place at NICE’s annual London event, underscoring the company’s global customer engagement and commitment to innovation amid market challenges.