Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff confirms 4000 layoffs

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has reportedly confirmed the layoffs of 4000 employees, directly attributing the decision to the company’s increased use of artificial intelligence (AI).

According to Benioff, AI has made the existing human resource so much more productive that he now needs “less heads” to perform the same amount of work.

He revealed the layoffs during an interview published on The Logan Bartlett Show.

Benioff while making conversation on the impact of AI on Salesforce operations stated, “I’ve reduced it from 9000 heads to about 5000 because I need less heads.”

Salesforce has been at the forefront of incorporating AI into products and has built what it calls an “Agentforce” of customer service bots.

During the summer, the Salesforce CEO announced that AI was already handling up to 50% of the work at Salesforce at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.

A human resource consultant Laurie Ruettimann said that AI is influencing jobs in several industries.

He said, "There have been layoffs all over America directly attributed to AI.”

Further he was of the view that anyone who wants to secure a job needs to learn new skills.

Laurie further explained, “It's on you to expound your vision, to expand your horizons and to meet new people.”

Technology analyst Ed Zitron said that tech companies are using AI as a convenient excuse for recent layoffs.

The companies overhired during the COVID-19 pandemic and now they are looking to lure investors by claiming to be more efficient.