Salesforce has used AI to reduce 4,000 support positions, according to the CEO.

Salesforce Cuts Jobs Due to AI Implementation

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently mentioned in a podcast that the company has reduced its customer support roles by 4,000 this year, largely due to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).

Support positions at major companies in San Francisco have seen nearly a 50% decline as AI systems take over various tasks.

“We went from 9,000 to about 5,000 employees,” Benioff explained. He noted that prior to this shift, when a customer called Salesforce, they interacted with 9,000 global support staff.

According to Benioff, AI agents now handle half of these interactions, with human agents managing the other half.

This transition towards AI has enabled Salesforce to redirect those positions into sales roles.

“Over the last 26 years, we haven’t had enough people to follow up on over 100 million leads,” Benioff said, showcasing a clear need for more sales personnel.

He went on to say that the balance of tasks between AI and humans has extended beyond just support to include sales and marketing as well.

“This marks the start of a transformation across various departments within a company,” he noted.

In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, a Salesforce representative confirmed that they had not aimed to replace support engineers with AI but sought to enhance efficiency. They mentioned that numerous employees have been reassigned to areas like professional services, sales, and customer success.

Benioff, a co-founder of Salesforce in 1999, is more vocal about the company’s AI initiatives than many of his peers in Silicon Valley. In June, he stated that AI was already responsible for 30-50% of Salesforce’s operations, a significant figure for a workforce of over 75,000.

This focus on AI has also led to workforce reductions at other major tech firms. For instance, in July, Microsoft announced layoffs impacting nearly 4% of its employees due to AI investments, while Meta has also cut thousands of positions earlier this year for similar reasons.