Workday expands AI push across Europe

As tech companies grapple with how to implement artificial intelligence effectively, Swiss sportswear company On has a clear perspective. Having deployed Workday’s enterprise software when it had just 600 employees, the company has seen firsthand how AI can help rapidly growing businesses scale their operations.

“We deployed Workday quite early in our growth journey, when we had around 600-700 employees,” says Andreas Hoeber, Head of Talent Technology at On.

“Our goal was to have a system that could scale rapidly alongside our business. Now, with Workday, we’ve automated the majority of our processes, empowered our team members with AI-powered solutions, and created a single, unified system where employees can easily access everything they need.”

This balance between supporting both smaller fast-growing companies and established enterprises appears central to Workday’s latest European expansion. The company announced today (December 11) that it is opening new offices in Zurich, Berlin and Copenhagen, alongside expanded operations in Warsaw.

The move comes as Workday reports that over 65% of its European customers are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while it simultaneously serves more than 40% of both the FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX 40.

To support this growth, the company is launching new Customer Innovation Labs in Zurich and Amsterdam, building on its existing facility in Paris. These spaces aim to help organisations tackle specific business challenges, from supply chain optimisation to regulatory compliance.

The expansion coincides with Workday’s increased focus on artificial intelligence through its Workday Illuminate platform. The company has also announced a strategic partnership with Salesforce to develop an AI-powered employee service agent, marking a collaboration between two of the most widely used cloud platforms in business.

“At Workday, we see tremendous potential in EMEA—a region brimming with innovation, talent, and economic opportunity,” says Angelique de-Vries Schipperijn, president of EMEA at Workday.

“Our continued investment here reflects our commitment to helping organisations thrive in an ever-changing business landscape. Whether it’s with cutting-edge technology like Workday Illuminate or local expertise, we’re focused on empowering our customers to adapt, grow, and succeed.”

The company is also addressing the technology skills gap through several initiatives. At its EMEA headquarters in Dublin, which employs more than 2,000 people, staff are offered fully-funded graduate degree programmes in partnership with Technological University Dublin.

Looking ahead to 2025, Workday plans to launch its “Workday Returners” programme, aimed at helping people who have taken career breaks to re-enter the workforce. The initiative, part of the company’s global Opportunity Onramps programme, will work with regional partners including Women in Tech Forum and Career Returners.

The company has also expanded its partnership network, announcing new collaborations with consulting firm Korn Ferry and technology services provider BNB. The latter has developed a new service offering designed to help medium-sized enterprises deploy Workday’s software within four weeks.

“This partnership is about more than just technology; it’s about enabling organisations to build a future-ready workforce that can adapt and thrive in the face of constant change,” says Mathias Herzog, President of Korn Ferry Digital. “Together, we will provide the applications and expertise so organisations can optimise talent strategies, enhance employee experiences and drive impactful business results.”

The announcements come at a time when organisations across Europe are seeking to balance the opportunities presented by AI with the practical challenges of implementation. While the technology offers potential benefits in areas like process automation and decision support, successful deployment often requires significant organisational change and careful consideration of how AI tools can best support human workers.

For rapidly growing companies like On, the ability to scale operations efficiently while maintaining effective workforce management has proven crucial. As both large enterprises and SMEs continue to navigate digital transformation, the availability of local support and expertise is likely to play an increasingly important role in their technology strategies.

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