‘Firing 7k employees in 2-hour call was bad idea’

San Francisco: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has admitted that laying off thousands of employees during a two-hour, all-hands meeting over a call was a bad idea. The enterprise software company Salesforce in January laid off 10 per cent of its workforce, impacting about 7,000 employees, amid the ongoing global macroeconomic conditions. In an interview, Benioff said the call wasn't the best idea. "We were trying to explain the unexplainable. It's hard to have a call like that with such a large group and have it be effective, and we paid a price," he was quoted as saying. Salesforce employees had slammed Benioff for being evasive during the meeting.

"I wish I offered lifetime employment. But the reality is when you have a big company with 80,000 employees, there are going to be times you have to make a headcount adjustment. Our layoff packages are some of the most generous ever," Benioff was quoted as saying in the report. Earlier this month, several Salesforce employees came to know that they have been fired, as the company began laying off 7,000 workers or 10 per cent of its workforce. Around 4,000 people just disappeared from Salesforce's Slack channel within two days.

In San Francisco, the layoff round hit 258 workers, affecting "sales and customer service", "technology and product" and "general administration", according to a WARN notice. In Ireland, 200 of the company's 2,100 employees received their notices. In the US, affected employees will receive a minimum of nearly five months of pay, health insurance, career resources, and other benefits to help with their transition. "Those outside the US will receive a similar level of support, and our local processes will align with employment laws in each country," Benioff had said.