Workday Plans to Eliminate About 400 Roles in Latest Workforce Reduction

The customer operations group at Workday will be hit hard by the latest round of layoffs, which the company has announced. Therefore, this marks the beginning of yet another change in focus within the enterprise software team. The cloud-based HR and financial software supplier announced plans to lay off about 2% of its employees in a regulatory filing issued on 4 February.

The layoff is implemented as part of a restructuring initiative that is intended to ensure that the organisation's personnel and resources are in alignment with its "highest priorities" for fiscal 2027. This comes after last year's announcement of a much larger reduction in staff. According to former CEO Carl Eschenbach, Workday reduced headcount by 8.5% in 2025 in order to adapt to changing client demands.

Workday Changing its Operations Strategy

In its most recent announcement, Workday does not reveal the overall number of employees to be affected by the layoff. Nevertheless, considering the stated labour size, a 2% reduction would imply approximately 400 positions. The corporation has reportedly stated that positions inside Global Customer Operations that do not directly contribute to revenue will be the hardest hit by the layoffs. This choice demonstrates a deliberate disregard for internal support systems in favour of revenue-generating operations.

During fiscal 2027, Workday intends to keep hiring in strategic and revenue-generating areas to take advantage of market possibilities. Depending on the local legal and consultation processes in the several jurisdictions where Workday works, the restructuring is expected to be substantially finished by late April 2026. The restructuring and impairment costs that the business anticipates recording in the fourth quarter will be around $135 million.

According to the filing, the significant portion of its expenses, amounting to $80 million, is attributed to impairments in office space. Analysts agree that the IT industry's job market is very unpredictable, and Workday's labour practices reflect that. In 2025, widespread layoffs surpassed 1.2 million positions across all sectors, affecting even the most well-known companies like Amazon and Pinterest, demonstrating the ongoing impact of rising costs and changing consumer preferences.

What this Layoff Means to Workday’s Clients?

The layoffs might be an indication of changes in responsiveness or support methods for businesses using Workday's suite for essential HR, payroll, and financial processes. On February 24, 2026, Workday will announce its quarterly and annual financial results. The company's growth strategy and the impact of these personnel changes on that strategy will be closely monitored by investors and customers.

On top of that, they will be watching to make sure that service quality isn't compromised in the process of cutting costs. In the filing, the corporation expressed concern that the restructuring's anticipated benefits could not materialise as envisaged. Additionally, as the implementation of compliance with varied international employment legislation unfolds, the actual expenses may surpass its present estimates.