In this paper, the influence on the thermal effect caused by high-power solid-state laser machining and fibre-laser machining with respect to cutting edge characteristics and mechanical properties of continuous fibre reinforced composites is discussed. The experiments have been performed using organic sheets based on a thermoplastic polyphenylene sulfide matrix. The material is certified for aircraft applications. Within the frame of the investigations static tensile and interlaminar shear strength measurements were performed. An analytical model has been developed which is used for a correlation between the resulting heat affected zone at the cutting edge and the corresponding mechanical properties.