FILE: Workday’s logo is seen on the facade of an office used by the software company in Pleasanton, Calif., on March 26, 2018.
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Workday, a huge tech company that sells workforce management software, is laying off a whopping 1,750 people — including 617 in the Bay Area.
The company, worth $73 billion, announced the cuts Wednesday morning in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a mass layoff notice to California officials and a letter to employees from CEO Carl Eschenbach. Per the filing, the sweeping layoff will pare back Workday’s staff by 8.5%, which puts the company’s new headcount at around 18,840.
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Workday’s mass layoff notice, a required filing under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, said 617 roles will be cut at the company’s Pleasanton headquarters on Stoneridge Mall Road.
Eschenbach, in the layoff letter, called the start of Workday’s new fiscal year a “pivotal moment,” with demand for artificial intelligence that “has the potential to drive a new era of growth for Workday.” Like other executives who’ve slashed staff over the past two years, Eschenbach alluded to the idea that the cuts would help the company invest more money in its AI initiatives. Hiring won’t halt, he said, but will continue in “key strategic areas and locations.”
The CEO wrote in his letter that the company would be notifying as many of the laid-off workers as possible on Wednesday, and he encouraged those working in the office to head home.
FILE: Carl Eschenbach, CEO of Workday, walks to a session at the Sun Valley Conference on July 14, 2023, in Sun Valley, Idaho.
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Along with its Pleasanton headquarters — Workday moved into the city in 2008 — the company has offices in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara, as well as several other American and international cities. Workday’s Wednesday SEC filing said the company “expects to exit certain owned office space,” but company spokesperson Connor Spielmaker declined to answer SFGATE’s question on the topic.
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The vast size of the layoff means the cuts will prove costly in the short run — the SEC filing included an estimate of $145 million to $175 million in severance-related costs. Eschenbach’s email said affected employees in the United States will receive a minimum of 12 weeks of pay.
“We have so much opportunity ahead of us, especially with the potential of AI, and we have a strong foundation to build upon,” Eschenbach wrote. “While we have work ahead to realize our vision and full potential, today is about focusing on taking care of each other.”
Work at a Bay Area tech company and want to talk? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at [email protected] or on Signal at 628-204-5452.
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Feb 5, 2025
