Salesforce has announced a major downsizing of its support workforce, with Chief Executive Marc Benioff confirming that 4,000 roles have been eliminated as artificial intelligence systems take on a larger share of customer interactions.
The decision marks a significant shift for the US-based cloud software giant, which is increasingly embedding AI into its core operations.
AI Reduces Reliance on Human Agents
Speaking on the Logan Bartlett podcast, Benioff revealed that Salesforce has cut its support team from 9,000 to 5,000 employees – a reduction of nearly 45 per cent, reported Moneycontrol. He explained that AI agents are now responsible for handling half of all customer conversations, leaving the remainder to human staff. Describing the period as “eight of the most exciting months of my career,” he praised AI’s role in transforming Salesforce’s service model.
“I was able to rebalance my head count on my support,” Benioff said, highlighting how quickly the company has been able to transition towards automated service delivery.
Tackling a 26-Year Sales Backlog
The company is not limiting AI deployment to support alone. Benioff disclosed that Salesforce had accumulated a backlog of over 100 million uncalled sales leads over the past 26 years, largely due to staffing limitations. New AI-powered “agentic sales” tools are now actively contacting those leads, significantly accelerating outreach efforts.
To maintain balance between automation and human oversight, Salesforce has introduced an “omnichannel supervisor” framework. This system allows AI to escalate cases to human representatives whenever necessary – a model Benioff compared to Tesla’s autopilot technology, which hands control back to drivers in complex situations.
Shift from Earlier Assurances
The move comes only weeks after Benioff publicly downplayed concerns that artificial intelligence would result in sweeping job losses. In July 2025, he insisted that AI would “augment, not replace” workers, pointing to accuracy limitations as a reason humans would remain indispensable. He also criticised startup founders who warned of widespread white-collar unemployment. Yet, the recent layoffs suggest a swift change in outlook.
Salesforce’s global workforce stood at 76,453 in January 2025, meaning the cuts account for around five per cent of its total headcount. For many observers, this scale underscores just how quickly AI is altering workplace dynamics.
Balancing Efficiency and Employment
While Benioff and Salesforce emphasise the efficiency gains of automation, the latest restructuring raises pressing questions about the human impact of AI. On one hand, the company is enhancing productivity and improving service delivery. On the other, thousands of employees have lost their jobs as the technology proves capable of replacing functions once considered safe from automation.
The developments at Salesforce highlight a broader challenge facing global companies: how to harness the benefits of AI-driven efficiency without sidelining large parts of the workforce. For Benioff, the decision signals both enthusiasm for technological innovation and acknowledgement of the economic trade-offs it entails.