Salesforce, the CRM leader, is set to lay off around 700 employees, constituting approximately 1 percent of its worldwide workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Despite the scale of the job cuts, the report suggests that Salesforce still has 1,000 open positions across various departments, leading to speculation that this move may be part of routine adjustments to the company’s workforce, according to an inside source.
This announcement follows a broader trend of job cuts in the U.S. tech sector, which experienced significant hiring during the pandemic. Major players in the industry, such as Amazon and Google, have also initiated rounds of layoffs in recent times.
Salesforce has refrained from providing an official response to the reports, as the company did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Earlier in the week, eBay unveiled plans to cut approximately 1,000 roles, representing an estimated 9 percent of its current workforce. Similarly, Microsoft announced intentions to lay off 1,900 employees, affecting positions at Activision Blizzard and Xbox.
It’s worth noting that Salesforce had already undergone workforce reductions in the previous year, implementing a 10 percent reduction in staff and closing some offices. This move was a response to the rapid expansion of the workforce during the pandemic, resulting in an overstaffed organization. The restructuring efforts proved successful in positively impacting the company’s earnings, leading to increased revenue in the second and third quarters, as well as an upward revision of the annual profit forecast.
In a strategic move, Salesforce had announced in September its plan to hire over 3,000 individuals, following the job cuts in January of the same year. This decision aimed to optimize margins and align the workforce with the company’s evolving needs.
