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Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Image: Creative Commons
AI has come for jobs at Salesforce. The CRM giant said it has reduced its hiring for engineering and customer service roles after deploying AI systems across key operations. Roughly 500 customer service workers have been moved into new roles this year following the rollout of AI tools, Salesforce Chief Financial and Operations Officer Robin Washington said. The shift is projected to deliver $50 million in annual savings. Hiring for software engineers has also slowed, as AI integration has enabled existing staff to handle greater workloads.
“We have reduced some of our hiring needs,” Washington told analysts during a call Wednesday. Washington’s remarks followed Salesforce’s announcement earlier in the week of its planned $8 billion acquisition of data management firm Informatica, a move aimed at strengthening its AI strategy.
Earlier this week, CEO Marc Benioff said in a statement that the two companies “will create the most complete, agent-ready data platform in the industry.”
More sales jobs being added
Despite cutting back in technical departments, Salesforce is ramping up recruitment in sales to support growth in its AI product offerings. The company currently employs around 13,000 sales staff, and Chief Revenue Officer Miguel Milano said the company aims to expand that figure by 22% this year.
Multiple tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, are already using AI to assist with tasks to increase productivity. And like Salesforce, other companies are cutting back on hiring in some areas while hiring in others. Earlier this month, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told the Wall Street Journal that AI agents are replacing a couple hundred human resources workers, but the company has hired more programmers and salespeople.
Salesforce’s own AI agents could also enable other firms to reduce staffing needs. Benioff said last fall that the tools would help clients handle seasonal surges without bringing on additional hires.
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