Salesforce layoffs loom

Salesforce.com Inc. has started to notify some of its staff they could lose their jobs a day after the businesssoftware provider reported record sales, sending its stock surging.

Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff in March pledged on Twitter that the company would avoid any significant layoffs for 90 days during the pandemic even as the company shifted to remote working. He called on other CEOs to follow him in a “no layoff ” pledge.

“We’re reallocating resources to position the company for continued growth,” Salesforce said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal. “This includes continuing to hire and redirecting some employees to fuel our strategic areas, and eliminating some positions that no longer map to our business priorities.”

Around 1,000 of Salesforce’s 54,000 employees are affected, a person familiar with the plan said. Employees who were notified their job was being eliminated have 60 days to find a new role in the company, the person said.

For Benioff, who has made social causes a big part of his public persona, the layoffs come at an awkward time. On Tuesday, Salesforce lifted its full-year earnings outlook and posted a record $5.15 billion in sales for the most recent quarter. Salesforce said it expects to top that figure in the current quarter in which the layoffs are unfolding.

Starting next week, Salesforce’s stock will be one of the 30 making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.