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On Fri, 10 Jan, 8:03 AM UTC
3 Sources
[1]
Why Salesforce Has Stopped Hiring Engineers in 2025
Current Salesforce employees have expressed concerns that the public announcement may serve as a cover for a broader hiring freeze initiated after layoffs in January 2023. There's apprehension that management might prioritize short-term stock gains over long-term product development, potentially leading to further layoffs. While Salesforce anticipates overall growth in employee numbers in the coming years, the shift towards AI-driven productivity marks a significant transformation in workforce dynamics. The company acknowledges that this transition may pose challenges but views it as a necessary evolution to remain competitive in the rapidly advancing tech landscape. Salesforce's decision to halt software engineer hiring in 2025 underscores the profound impact of AI on the tech industry. As AI continues to drive productivity gains, companies may increasingly reevaluate traditional hiring practices, leading to significant shifts in employment patterns and organizational structures.
[2]
Hard-selling AI by non-HR example
Salesforce's recent announcement to halt software engineer hiring in 2025 highlights the impact of AI on job displacement. The company's success in using AI to improve productivity and reduce sales forces demonstrates the potential for broader AI adoption in tech and finance industries, paving the way for significant workforce changes.Last month, San Francisco-based software biggie Salesforce brought home the chill of AI-induced job losses when it announced it won't be hiring any software engineers in 2025. Earlier, CEO Marc Benioff had said that Salesforce needs 2,000 extra salesmen to peddle its customer relationship management software. Tech layoffs stabilised last year after a brutal 2023, when companies corrected for pandemic over-hiring. But the numbers are still way too high. Current projections don't present a picture of net addition, as AI moves into more functional areas in Silicon Valley and Wall St. Tech and finance industries are seeking productivity gains where AI is making them available, and downsizing in anticipation of required investments where they are not. Salesforce is ahead of the curve by virtue of its product portfolio, and serves as a marker for AI's progress in agent-based customer roles across Fortune 500 companies. Its wide distribution model underscores potential job displacement from the back to the front office. The company has shed skittishness about going public with the savings it's delivering to its enterprise customers, an issue most companies soft-pedal. The data on which Salesforce's bots train are provided by its customers, reducing the scope of errors of judgement generative AI is prone to. The company has also developed a revenue model that benefits from shrunken sales forces at its client organisations. There is now a financial benchmark to AI adoption that companies can chase. That they are not doing it more aggressively is a factor of backward integration of AI processes from the customer interface. This is a more sedate process driven by managerial acceptance of technology. In the case of AI, business leaders also need to review a broader set of issues, including corporate governance and organisational structure. Salesforce has demonstrated productivity enhancement in common business practices. Bigger job displacement awaits companies successfully applying AI to parts of their businesses that make them unique. The Salesforce example could help them focus their minds.
[3]
No company for coders. Salesforce won't hire engineers, thanks to AI gains
"If you look at people, consumers, all our demands are not met. You go into a state hospital, the doctors are overworked. Workforce is limited by the number of hours that they have at their disposal. What AI actually can do is to unlimit this limitation. Your employment opportunities will go up, maybe the roles will be different. Transition would be a little painful, but it will happen." Salesforce doubled its India headcount in the country in the last few years, Bhattacharya told ET in September.
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Salesforce's decision to stop hiring software engineers in 2025 highlights the growing impact of AI on workforce dynamics in the tech industry, sparking discussions about productivity gains and potential job displacement.
Salesforce, the San Francisco-based software giant, has made a groundbreaking announcement that it will cease hiring software engineers in 2025 1. This decision marks a significant shift in the company's workforce strategy and highlights the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the tech industry.
The company's move is primarily attributed to the substantial productivity gains achieved through AI implementation. Salesforce has successfully leveraged AI to enhance its operations, particularly in customer-facing roles 2. The company's AI-powered bots, trained on customer-provided data, have demonstrated remarkable efficiency in handling customer relationship management tasks, reducing the need for human intervention 2.
Salesforce's decision serves as a bellwether for the broader tech industry, signaling a potential trend in AI adoption and its impact on traditional hiring practices. The company's success in using AI to improve productivity and reduce sales forces demonstrates the technology's potential to reshape workforce dynamics across Fortune 500 companies 2.
Current Salesforce employees have expressed apprehension about the announcement, viewing it as a possible precursor to a broader hiring freeze or even further layoffs 1. There are concerns that management might prioritize short-term stock gains over long-term product development 1. This sentiment reflects the broader anxiety in the tech sector about AI's potential to displace human workers.
The tech industry has already witnessed significant layoffs in recent years, with companies correcting for pandemic over-hiring. While the pace of layoffs has stabilized, current projections do not indicate net job additions in the sector 2. As AI continues to penetrate more functional areas in Silicon Valley and Wall Street, companies are increasingly seeking productivity gains through AI implementation 2.
Despite the concerns, some industry experts argue that AI could potentially create new employment opportunities, albeit in different roles. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Salesforce India Chairperson and CEO, suggests that AI could help overcome workforce limitations, potentially increasing employment opportunities in new areas 3. However, she acknowledges that the transition may be challenging in the short term.
Interestingly, while halting engineer hiring, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has mentioned the need for 2,000 additional salespeople to market their customer relationship management software 2. This juxtaposition highlights the company's strategic shift towards AI-driven operations while maintaining focus on sales and customer relations.
As the tech industry grapples with the implications of AI integration, Salesforce's bold move sets a precedent for other companies to reevaluate their hiring practices and organizational structures in the face of rapid technological advancements.
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Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announces plans to hire 2,000 new salespeople to sell AI products, doubling previous estimates. This comes as the company prepares to launch Agentforce 2.0, its next-generation AI platform, in February 2025.
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Salesforce is laying off more than 1,000 employees while simultaneously hiring for AI-focused roles, highlighting a shift towards AI integration in its business strategy.
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Salesforce's stock price increases following the company's announcement of new AI-powered tools and a positive outlook for the upcoming fiscal year. The software firm aims to leverage artificial intelligence to drive growth and improve its products.
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Salesforce's shares fall as weak annual forecast raises questions about AI monetization, particularly for its Agentforce platform. The company's transition to AI-driven solutions faces challenges in showing immediate returns.
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Salesforce's Q4 fiscal 2025 results and the performance of its Agentforce AI platform are set to influence both the company's stock and the broader perception of AI agents in the tech industry.
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