Devastating Layoffs In Utah Are Impacting Thousands

Layoffs are a scary thing and Utahns and people all over the country are experiencing a new one from Workday.  

Workday is a tech company with a location in Salt Lake City, Utah. As of Wednesday, the company's CEO announced that it would be cutting 1,750 jobs, ABC 4 said. That's 8.5% of the company's workforce.  

In a memo sent to employees on Wednesday, the Workday CEO said the layoffs were for growth efforts and comes as the company shifts its focus to artificial intelligence investments, ABC 4 wrote.  

The company also said that it would be leaving certain office spaces but didn’t say which locations would be impacted.  

Even with the layoffs, Workday will still be hiring at specific locations and for certain positions, ABC 4 said.  

This is just one of the many layoffs happening in Utah and the U.S. as tech companies restructure to compete with AI.  

According to USA Facts, layoffs in Utah are...common. In September 2024 25 thousand Utahns were laid off. Over the course of last year, 202 thousand people were laid off in Utah alone.  

This was a spike from 2023, though lower than layoffs were during the pandemic in 2020.  

Utahns are facing a challenging time as the workforce changes and new policies are put in place. Though many people will have severance pay, that only lasts so long and finding a job in the current market is difficult in Utah.  

With layoffs starting 2025 off, it will be an interesting year for the U.S. and Utah.