Salesforce Cuts around 7,000 after Hiring 'Too Many'

CRM software giant Salesforce is to cut around 10% of its workforce. The firm says increasing its headcount by some 30% in 2021 (to around 73,500) was a mistake - 'too many... leading into this economic downturn'.

CEO Marc Benioff (pictured) took responsibility for the error in an email to staff on Wednesday, noting that 'the environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions'. The cuts will be made 'over the coming weeks', and although individual staff affected have been informed, as yet there is (to DRNO's knowledge) no summary information about which business functions or geographies will bear the brunt. The firm expects between $1.0 and $1.4 billion in related charges, including redundancy payments in many cases equivalent to c.5 months' salary.

Salesforce provides CRM software focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, analytics and app development. The Analytics and Data Visualization division consists mostly of staff from data viz firm Tableau Software, which Salesforce acquired in mid-2019. Research for MrWeb's RAIDAR rankings indicates that just over 5% of Salesforce staff are in this division, suggesting that several hundred staff in the division could be involved.

Web site: www.salesforce.com .