WSJ reported today that Salesforce will lay off approximately 700 employees, representing around 1% of its global workforce. The job cuts come as the cloud computing giant looks to optimize its workforce following a hiring spree during the pandemic.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Salesforce still has around 1,000 job openings posted, indicating this is more of a routine adjustment rather than a broader downsizing effort. The company grew aggressively when demand for cloud services boomed during the pandemic lockdowns but is now refocusing as economic conditions become uncertain.
For Salesforce, this is the second round of cuts after reducing headcount by 10% in 2022. At that time, Salesforce shut down some offices and aimed to improve efficiency following a period of outsized recruiting.
The job cuts appeared to have the intended effect, as the company has since reported increased profits and raised its revenue outlook for the full year. In September, Salesforce also said it would create more than 3,000 new positions.
In other news, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff warned about AI at the WEF this year. He said that major technology companies need to come together to establish principles to avoid an "AI Hiroshima moment."
We don’t want to have a Hiroshima moment. We’ve seen technology go really wrong, and we saw a Hiroshima. We don’t want to see an AI Hiroshima. We want to make sure that we’ve got our head around this now.
Salesforce is not alone in trimming payroll as the tech industry enters a slower growth phase post-pandemic. Other major players like Amazon, Google, eBay, and Microsoft have all implemented layoffs, eliminatingthousands of roles in recent weeks.
Microsoft announced yesterday a new series of layoffs across its gaming division. The company is about to let go of roughly 1,900 employees, most of whom work at Activision Blizzard, which was purchased by Microsoft in October 2023.
Similarly, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last year that the company would lay off 10,000 of its employees, affecting less than 5 percent of Microsoft"s workforce.
Source: Wall Street Journal