Salesforce seems to be firing and hiring at the same time. It is cutting over 1,000 jobs but at the same time it is expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) team by hiring more people. It needs more hires to sell new AI offerings, reports Bloomberg. The exact divisions that will be impacted are not known yet.
However, what is known is that the laid-off employees will be allowed to look for other suitable jobs within Salesforce.
This is not the first time that Salesforce is trimming its workforce. The cloud-based software solutions provider, had let go up to 300 employees in July 2024. This reduction was part of an effort to streamline operations, optimise its structure and drive growth. These cuts came at a time the company had witnessed significant growth in Africa, particularly in South Africa and Morocco, where AI investments had yielded substantial returns.
In November 2024 it was revealed that Own, the data-management startup acquired by Salesforce in a $2 billion deal would witness job cuts soon. It was reported at the time that some roles would be eliminated by 31 January after ‘harmonisation’, while some others would be eliminated over about three months or a year, depending on their requirement in the transition period for the integration process.
The headcount at Salesforce had spiked over the past few years due to several mergers. Not surprisingly, its expenses had gone up too. In fact, a couple of years ago, activist investors had begun expressing concern over the customer-relations software manufacturer’s spree of deals. In response, Salesforce had opted to dissolve its mergers and acquisitions team and had trimmed its workforce by 10 per cent in 2023.
