Salesforce has slashed another 4,000 jobs from its customer support workforce as the tech giant doubles down on artificial intelligence, even as the company reports strong financial results.
The latest layoffs gutted Salesforce’s customer service division, reducing its headcount from 9,000 to 5,000. AI agents now reportedly handle about one million customer conversations.
In a recent episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, CEO Marc Benioff justified the cuts by saying he “needs less heads” as Salesforce invests heavily in AI across its operations.
Earlier this year, Benioff boasted that AI was already doing 30 to 50 percent of the work, which he framed as efficiency gains – a 17 percent cost reduction achieved after shedding 1,000 people in February.
On Wednesday, the Slack owner reported revenue topped $10.2bn for the quarter ending July 31, up 10 percent from the same period last year. The company also announced a $20bn increase in its share buyback plan.
“These results reflect the success of our customers – like Pfizer, Marriott and the US Army – who are transforming into agentic enterprises, where humans and AI agents work side by side to reimagine workflows, accelerate productivity, and deliver customer success,” Benioff said.
“We exceeded all our financial targets while achieving our 10th consecutive quarter of operating margin expansion, delivering strong returns and maximising value for our customers and shareholders.”
But the business software provider also forecast that the current quarter revenue would be below Wall Street estimates, as clients dial back spending on its enterprise cloud products due to macroeconomic uncertainty.
Shares of the San Francisco, California-based company fell more than 4 percent in trading after the bell.
Benioff, whose annual compensation package was valued at $55m, has openly embraced automation as a central pillar of Salesforce’s future even as thousands lose their jobs. He insists the agg