Activist investor Randian Capital is pushing Docusign to slash its workforce by at least 25% and restructure for the AI era, citing Block Inc.'s recent 40% headcount reduction as a wake-up call. The New York-based firm, known for its retail activist approach, released an AI-assisted report calling for a radical overhaul of the e-signature leader.

Randian argues that Docusign's 80% market share makes its current R&D and sales spending largely redundant. The activist report highlights a stark disparity between Docusign's 30% operating margins and the 40-47% margins at peers like Adobe and Veeva Systems. By aggressively cutting costs, Randian estimates Docusign's earnings per share could double within 24 months.

The campaign comes as Docusign shares have plummeted more than 50% from their 52-week highs amid broader industry concerns about AI disrupting legacy software models. Randian also targets Docusign's classified board structure and executive compensation tied to margin expansion and free cash flow per share.