Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach clocks out amid job cuts and market jitters
Co-founder Aneel Bhusri returns to hot seat after turbulent year
Carl Eschenbach has stepped down as Workday CEO and been replaced by co-founder and executive Aneel Bhusri following a round of job cuts and share price volatility.
In a statement [PDF] to investors, the company said Eschenbach is set to get an aggregate lump sum cash payment of $3.6 million, including cash severance benefits.
Workday provides enterprise HR and finance software as a service. Like many SaaS vendors, its value has been hard hit over the last week as investors consider the impact of AI on the market. Over the last year, its share price has fallen by around 40 percent.
Eschenbach was appointed CEO in January 2024, succeeding Bhusri's first tenure in the role. In February 2025, Workday announced it was cutting 8.5 percent of its personnel – equivalent to around 1,750 positions – under a restructuring scheme because of AI investment.
The company later said it would rehire different roles and skills, intending to "ultimately have the same amount of people working," CFO Zane Rowe told investors in June last year.
In September, activist investors took a $2 billion stake in Workday. At the time, Eschenbach cast doubt on the company's rehiring plans. "We don't need more headcount to drive the business forward," he told investors.
Last week, the company said it was laying off about 2 percent of its staff in a bid to align its people with its "highest priorities," hitting margins for the quarter and the year.
In a prepared statement, Mark Hawkins, Workday vice chair and lead independent director, said Eschenbach had stepped in at "a pivotal time" and helped Workday "mature into a more global, disciplined organization."
Bhusri said: "I'm deeply grateful to Carl for leading Workday through an important chapter – scaling the company, building on our foundation, and positioning us well for what's ahead. We're now entering one of the most pivotal moments in our history. AI is a bigger transformation than SaaS – and it will define the next generation of market leaders. I'm energized to return as CEO, working alongside our presidents Gerrit Kazmaier and Rob Enslin, and I'm excited about the opportunity in front of us."
Eschenbach's youthful exploits in college wrestling earned him hall-of-fame status. Perhaps investor sentiment proved to be an opponent too difficult to pin down. ®