Salesforce recently laid off a number of workers and implemented a new hiring freeze through January 2023, Protocol has learned.
The full extent of the head count reduction couldn’t be determined, though sources said it appeared to be at least 90 employees and seemed to largely impact contract workers as opposed to full-time employees. That’s a small fragment of Salesforce’s over 73,000 workers, but large tech companies have been loathe to undergo layoffs, most likely to avoid igniting fear among investors that their growth prospects have changed.
Salesforce declined to comment on how many employees were affected. While Salesforce implemented a hiring freeze in May, it was rescinded for roughly a month before the new freeze was put in place this week, according to sources.
“While limited hiring continues, most departments have reached their hiring goals for the fiscal year,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The company later added “as a result, we have ended contracts with some temporary recruiting contractors.”
Salesforce famously borrows its corporate culture from the Hawaiian tradition of the “Ohana,” which according to custom refers to an extended family not necessarily connected by blood, but by shared experience and community. A Salesforce representative declined to comment on the record whether the company still considers contractors part of its “Ohana.”
Salesforce last laid off employees in August 2020, right after announcing, at the time, record quarterly revenue. The latest round of layoffs comes as Salesforce faces questions over its future growth potential. The company also recently broadcasted to investors a goal of hitting 25% operating margin by 2026.
Source: Protocol
