American enterprise software company, Salesforce, has announced plans to lay off 10% of its workforce, which will affect over 7,000 workers in the company.
The company announced in a letter to its employees on Wednesday, citing a challenging environment.
As of last year, the company’s employees figure stood at 73,541 people globally.
Just like Meta and other tech giants that laid off massively last year, Salesforce also blamed the decision on the fact that the company had hired too many people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEO’s comments: In the letter to the company’s employees dated January 4, 2023, the Company’s Chair and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Marc Benioff, said:
- “… the environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions. With this in mind, we’ve made the very difficult decision to reduce our workforce by about 10%, mostly over the coming weeks.
- “I’ve been thinking a lot about how we came to this moment. As our revenue accelerated through the pandemic, we hired too many people leading into this economic downturn we’re now facing, and I take responsibility for that.
- “Within the next hour, employees who are initially affected by this decision will receive an email letting them know. Our leadership will reach out directly to these employees, and provide clarity for their teams about changes within their organizations.”
Severance package: Benioff said the company would provide full support for those that will be affected by the layoff.
- “In the U.S., affected employees will receive a minimum of nearly five months of pay, health insurance, career resources, and other benefits to help with their transition. Those outside the U.S. will receive a similar level of support, and our local processes will align with employment laws in each country.
- “The employees being affected aren’t just colleagues. They’re friends. They’re family. Please reach out to them. Offer the compassion and love they and their families deserve and need now more than ever. And most of all, please lean on your leadership, including me, as we work through this difficult time together,” Benioff added in the letter.
The announcement from Salesforce just a few days into the new year marked the resumption of the mass layoffs by tech giants, which started in Q4 2022, and which analysts had predicted would continue into Q1 2023. It followed the 11,000 mass layoffs by Meta and the 3,700 head cut by Twitter among several others.