Salesforce Cuts Another 1,000 Jobs: Is Tech's 'Rightsizing' Ever Really Done?

Fewer than 1,000 jobs. That's Salesforce's latest cut, just one year after slashing 10,000 positions. So much for tech's "rightsizing is complete" narrative.

The Layoff Cycle That Won't End

This wasn't supposed to happen. Salesforce declared its restructuring finished in 2023, with CEO Marc Benioff promising the painful cuts were behind them. Yet here we are again.

According to Business Insider, the latest reduction affects fewer than 1,000 employees from a workforce of 73,000 – roughly 1.4%. Small in percentage terms, but the timing tells a different story.

Last year's tech bloodbath seemed like a correction. Meta (11,000 cuts), Amazon (18,000), Google (12,000) – all blamed pandemic over-hiring. The story was simple: we hired too fast, now we're fixing it. But if companies are still cutting a year later, what does that really say?

The New Math of Tech Employment

The numbers don't lie. Tech companies added millions of jobs during the pandemic boom, betting on permanent digital transformation. When growth slowed, they blamed "over-hiring." But continued cuts suggest something deeper.

Wall Street loves it. Salesforce shares jumped 2% on the news. Investors see efficiency, not human cost. The market rewards companies that can do more with less – even if "less" means fewer paychecks for American workers.

For employees, it's a different calculation. Those who remain face heavier workloads and constant uncertainty. "When's the next round?" becomes the question nobody asks but everyone thinks.

AI's Role in the Equation

Salesforce isn't just cutting randomly. Reports suggest the focus is on sales and marketing roles – positions increasingly automated by AI. The company's own AI tools can now handle tasks that once required human touch.

This raises uncomfortable questions about tech's promises. These companies championed AI as augmenting human work, not replacing it. But their hiring decisions suggest otherwise. If AI truly enhances productivity, why the continued job cuts?

The tech industry sold us on innovation creating jobs. Now it's showing us innovation can eliminate them just as efficiently. Which story should we believe?