Salesforce layoffs start with cuts in S.F.
Salesforce is laying off 165 San Francisco employees as part of wider job cuts despite reporting recordhigh revenue of more than $5 billion last quarter.
The cloud computing company, San Francisco’s largest private employer, is laying off four workers in general administration, 42 in sales and customer service and 119 in technology and product divisions, according to a state filing. The cuts span the company’s three downtown towers: Salesforce Tower, 350 Mission St. and 50 Fremont St.
The company has more than 50,000 employees and more than 9,000 in San Francisco. Around 1,000 positions will be cut, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans.
“We’re reallocating resources to position the company for continued growth. This includes continuing to hire and redirecting some employees to fuel our strategic areas, and elim
inating some positions that no longer map to our business priorities. For affected employees, we are helping them find the next step in their careers, whether within our company or a new opportunity,” the company said.
Salesforce plans to hire in divisions that include security infrastructure, public sector work and international expansion.
The cuts underscore the tech industry’s continued belttightening, even at companies that have strong business during the coronavirus pandemic. Google, for instance, has not had layoffs but said it would pause hiring for many roles. Other tech companies that have lost business during the pandemic have had deeper cuts: Airbnb laid off 1,900, though it is planning an initial public offering as its business has recovered, and Uber had 6,700 job cuts.
Salesforce’s “growth prospects immediately aren’t as rosy as they were. They’re going to be longterm powerhouses and they had a good quarter, but we are in a period of restricted economic growth,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, a research firm.
Levy said tech companies have been able to weather the economic downturn better than other businesses because of the ability of employees to work remotely. But pandemic restrictions are still smothering the economy, he said.
“The economy’s recovering. It’s just very, very slow for the Bay Area,” he said. “I don’t see anything turning around quickly in the next two or three months.”
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had pledged in April that there would be no layoffs for 90 days. That pledge ran out in July.
The company is allowing all employees to work remotely until at least August 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic and associated school and business closures. San Francisco has no timeline for when offices will reopen for nonessential businesses, though Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to release statewide guidelines this week.