Salesforce is set to eliminate more than 1,000 positions as it enters its new fiscal year. According to Bloomberg, which broke the story, the job reductions coincide with ongoing hiring efforts to expand the company’s sales team for AI products. A source familiar with the matter told the news agency that affected employees would have the opportunity to apply for other positions within the company.
The specific departments impacted by the layoffs were not disclosed. Salesforce previously reported a total workforce of approximately 72,682 employees as of 31 January 2024.
The firm has carried out multiple rounds of layoffs over the past year. In January 2024, Salesforce let go 700 of its employees, followed by an additional 300 in July. Despite the reductions, the cloud-based software firm continues to hire for AI-related roles. In particular, Salesforce has expanded its sales team to support Agentforce, an AI-powered virtual representative platform. CEO Marc Benioff announced in December 2024 that Salesforce had secured over 1,000 paid deals for the product, which automates tasks such as responding to customer inquiries and assessing potential sales opportunities.
AI and cloud driving growth
Salesforce’s enterprise cloud portfolio remains a key driver of revenue growth. The company’s data cloud and AI-driven tools, including Agentforce, have seen strong adoption among enterprise clients seeking to streamline workflows and manage large volumes of data. On its most recent earnings call, executives emphasised the role of Agentforce in the company’s strategy. Salesforce has been investing heavily in the platform’s expansion, with plans to hire 1,400 new employees in the fourth quarter to meet growing demand.
The company exceeded Wall Street expectations in its third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings report, released in December 2024. It reported $9.44bn in revenue for the quarter ending 31 October 2024, an 8% increase from the previous year. Salesforce raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $37.8bn to $38bn, slightly above its prior forecast. Earnings per share (EPS) projections were also revised upward to a range of $6.15 to $6.2. in addition, subscription and support revenue, which represents the bulk of the company’s income, increased by 9% YoY to $8.88bn. Operating cash flow surged 29% YoY to $1.98bn, while free cash flow rose 30% to $1.78bn.
Salesforce is set to report fourth-quarter earnings later this month, which may provide further insight into its workforce strategy and AI expansion plans.
The restructuring at Salesforce reflects the broader trend throughout the technology sector of companies restructuring their workforces in response to AI-driven changes and shifting business priorities. Over the past year, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have all announced job cuts as they focus on emerging technologies and operational efficiencies.
Read more: Salesforce unveils Agentforce 2.0 to streamline operations and cut human reliance
