Workday Buying Bender and Indeed Commission Changes

Happy Friday Job Board Doctor Friends

For the first time in several years, we are not at HR Tech. I definitely miss all of our TA peeps—while equally NOT missing Las Vegas at all.

Anybody get any good gossip?

What does the JBD team have in the hopper this week?

 

• U.S. interest rate decrease
• Workday is on an acquisition bender
• RUMORED: Indeed lowers agency commissions

The Fed Cuts Interest Rates

This week the Federal Reserve made its first rate cut since December 2024, lowering the benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 4.00%–4.25%.

The move follows months of data showing a cooling labor market: job gains slowing, unemployment edging up to about 4.3%, and continued elevated weekly jobless claims.

Inflation, meanwhile, is still hovering at around 2.9%, above the Fed’s 2% target. Thus creating an awkward dance between supporting growth and keeping price pressures in check.

The Fed signaled that more cuts are likely before year-end—possibly two additional quarter-point moves.

For businesses, this means slightly cheaper borrowing costs and some breathing room for financing, but it also underscores that job market is faltering.

August was weak with just 22,000 jobs added, and economists expect unemployment to drift higher, potentially to 4.5% by year-end.

What does this mean for our industry?

Rate cuts may help stem the slide in hiring, but don’t expect an immediate rebound. Monetary policy works with a lag, and my expectation is that employers will remain cautious. Some sectors—tech, housing, and consumer discretionary—may see a bit of a lift as borrowing costs ease.

The Fed’s move is a step toward putting a floor under labor market weakness—
but it’s certainly not a silver bullet.

Workday Acquisition Round-Up

Workday has been on a shopping bender over the past few weeks, wrapping up its fiscal year with a string of big buys.

It started with the acquisition of Flowise, announced on August 14—just a week before the purchase agreement for TA unicorn Paradox.

Flowise, an AI agent builder, offers a low-code, visual platform for creating AI agents—potentially tying all Workday systems into a simplified (color me skeptical) workflow and automation layer.

September brought yet another headline-grabbing move: the planned acquisition of Sana, an AI learning and development tool, for $1.1 billion. That deal is expected to close by the end of January 2026.

Together, these deals—along with HiredScore—position Workday as the talent management system leading the charge in AI innovation across the entirety of the talent lifecycle.

Chad and Cheese give us the breakdown, while throwing a little heat at iCIMS in the process.

RUMORED: INDEED CUTS AGENCY COMMISSION RATES

While I am still waiting on documented confirmation, here’s what I understand: Indeed has begun notifying mid-tier agencies (think ~$400k–$500k in annual Indeed spend) that commissions will be cut from the standard 15% down to 10%.

But of course, Indeed has a “solution” for the problem they’ve created.

The big question: Will these mid-tier, financially vulnerable agencies cave to the hand that feeds them until it starves them—or will they push back?

And beyond that, will enterprise employers really share risky, down-funnel, person-specific data with a company that has been hacked, constantly rewrites the rules of the game, and changes policies more often than I change padel outfits?

From my perspective, the risks far outweigh any potential rewards. No matter the company’s size or number of distribution points, I would never recommend giving this particular third party access to disposition data.

If anyone can share confirmation or provide additional details about the commission changes, the “solution,” or the potential impact on their business, I’d love to hear from you.

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Until Next Time,

Julie “The Doc” Sowash

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