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Workday CEO steps down amid layoffs and market jitters
Workday shifts leadership amid AI-driven market shifts and recent layoffs; CEO Eschenbach receives $3.6 million severance, Bhusri returns for fourth CEO term.
- On Monday | February 9, 2026, Workday said Carl Eschenbach stepped down as CEO and left the board, and co-founder Aneel Bhusri returned as CEO effective immediately.
- Following recent layoffs, Workday cut around 400 employees and roughly 1,750 positions last year amid AI restructuring, while activist investors took a $2 billion stake as concerns about AI pressured shares.
- Bhusri added that, `As we enter a defining moment shaped by AI, there is no one better than Aneel to lead this next chapter`, said Mark Hawkins, in a public statement.
- Market traders responded as shares sank roughly 8.50% on Monday, signaling immediate reaction to the leadership change and strategic focus on AI, with shares down about 43% from a year ago.
- Bhusri's return reflects his multiple leadership roles at Workday, including CEO from 2014 to 2020 and co-CEO from 2020 to 2024, while the Workday board said it would rehire different skills to 'ultimately have the same amount of people working.
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18 Articles
18 Articles
Workday Stock Falls Amid CEO Change. Co-Founder Bhusri Returns To Lead Software Maker
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Total News Sources18
Leaning Left2Leaning Right0Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution71% Center
Bias Distribution
- 71% of the sources are Center
71% Center
L 29%
C 71%
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