Workday is conducting layoffs for the second time this year, this time affecting around 500 workers. It also trimmed its fiscal third-quarter earnings forecast.
The software-as-a-service giant said in a securities filing Tuesday that it’s cutting approximately 2.5% of its workforce, mainly within its product and technology team, to “better align team structures with Workday’s strategic growth priorities.”
The company, which had over 21,000 employees at the end of January, said it plans to continue hiring in strategic areas and locations throughout fiscal 2027.
Workday shares are down about 12% year to date.
The company previously laid off about 400 employees in February, and about a week later, its then-CEO, Carl Eschenbach, left his post. He was succeeded by Workday cofounder and executive chair Aneel Bhusri, who had held the top job three times before.
In both layoff announcements, Workday didn’t cite AI as a catalyst, though the technology soured investors’ appetite for the company and other enterprise software vendors earlier this year. That is when the so-called SaaSpocalypse erased hundreds of billions of dollars from their market values over concerns that AI could make it cheaper for businesses to build software rather than buy it.
Bhusri has nonetheless remained bullish on his company’s prospects. “Last quarter, I told you I hadn’t met a single customer looking to replace Workday with something they’re building internally or buying from a startup. One quarter later, that hasn’t changed,” he said on an earnings call with analysts in August.
Workday also said on Tuesday that restructuring charges stemming from the latest round of layoffs will reduce its fiscal 2027 third-quarter and full-year operating margins.
