Job Cuts Announced at Salesforce

Salesforce, the 70,000-employee company known for cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software, is slimming down its workforce. The tech company plans to lay off about 700 employees, or roughly 1% of its current personnel. This step seems to be in line with its cost-saving measures, which have been a focal point for the company, especially in the last year.

This isn’t the first time Salesforce has reduced its employee count. Last year, the company let go of approximately 8,000 workers, a whopping 10% of its employees. This was primarily in response to cost-reduction pressures from investors. The latest round of layoffs just goes to show that Salesforce is still committed to keeping its costs down.

The tech industry as a whole seems to be following a similar trend. Both Google and Amazon have laid off hundreds of employees recently. In Amazon’s case, the layoffs spanned across its movie and TV studios as well as its Twitch streaming platform.

Nevertheless, it’s not all gloom and doom at Salesforce. The company still has plenty of job openings — around 1,000, according to sources close to the matter. This suggests that these layoffs might not be a drastic strategy shift, but a routine workforce adjustment. The main objective seems to be restructuring the company to focus more on growth.

Salesforce has had its share of hardships in the past year. The post-pandemic sales slump caused a significant dent in its growth trajectory. To add fuel to the fire, activist investors like Elliott Management bought stakes in Salesforce, pressuring the company to increase profit margins at a faster pace.

In response, Salesforce took several measures, including not just layoffs, but also cutting back on other expenses. Employee travel, real estate, and company retreats took a backseat as part of the company’s efforts to meet investor demands.

Despite these challenges, Salesforce’s stock has shown impressive performance, with an almost 80% rise over the last 12 months. This far outstrips the 37% growth of the Nasdaq Composite Index. Improved profit margins have played a crucial role in bolstering the company’s shares. Salesforce is due to announce the earnings of the last quarter in March, and the tech sector will be keenly watching.