Tech Layoffs Continue at Workday and Salesforce
The technology sector continues to see significant job cuts as companies restructure around artificial intelligence. Software and AI provider Workday has axed over 100 jobs in the East Bay, while Salesforce is cutting another 1,000 employees as its AI-focused overhaul continues.
- The recent Salesforce layoffs impacted roles across various teams, including marketing, product management, data analytics, and even its Agentforce AI unit. This move is part of a broader company overhaul that also saw the replacement of five high-profile leaders. - Salesforce's job cuts are directly linked to its increasing use of AI agents for customer support. CEO Marc Benioff stated that the company reduced its customer support staff from approximately 9,000 to 5,000 because AI agents now handle about 50% of customer interactions. - Workday's recent elimination of roughly 400 positions, or about 2% of its workforce, primarily targeted non-revenue-generating roles within its Global Customer Operations team. The company expects to incur about $135 million in charges related to these layoffs. - This is not the first round of significant layoffs for either company. In February 2025, Workday cut about 1,750 jobs, or 8.5% of its workforce, to reallocate resources toward AI development. Salesforce also had multiple rounds of layoffs in 2024 and 2025. - Despite the layoffs, Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach has called the narrative that AI is killing software jobs "overblown," stating that he sees AI as a tailwind for the company. He also indicated that Workday plans to continue hiring in strategic areas and expects to have more employees a year from now than before the restructuring. - The tech industry as a whole has seen a significant number of layoffs in early 2026, with tens of thousands of workers being let go as companies pivot toward AI and automation to increase efficiency. January 2026 saw the highest number of job cuts for that month since 2009. - Salesforce's leadership is also in flux, with CEO Marc Benioff appointing six new leaders to replace five existing ones. The former head of the Agentforce AI platform, Adam Evans, was among those who departed. - Shortly after the latest round of layoffs, Workday announced that CEO Carl Eschenbach was stepping down, with co-founder Aneel Bhusri returning to the CEO role. This leadership change comes as the company's stock has fallen about 40% over the past year amid investor concerns about its AI strategy.
