Salesforce has significantly reduced its customer support workforce, cutting about 4,000 jobs as artificial intelligence (AI) takes over much of the workload.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed the change while speaking on The Logan Bartlett Show podcast.
"I was able to rebalance my headcount on my support," Benioff said. "I've reduced it from 9,000 heads to about 5,000, because I need less heads."
According to FoxBusiness, the San Francisco–based software giant has leaned heavily on AI tools like Agentforce, which now handle nearly half of all customer interactions.
According to Benioff, support calls that were once managed entirely by humans are now split evenly between live agents and AI-powered bots.
Benioff noted that just a year ago, around 9,000 people worldwide would have been working with users through Salesforce's service cloud.
"Those same interactions are still happening today, but 50% are with agents, 50% are with humans."
Salesforce insists the cuts are not simply about job losses.
In a statement, the company said: "Because of the benefits and efficiencies of Agentforce, we've seen the number of support cases we handle decline and we no longer need to actively backfill support engineer roles. We've successfully redeployed hundreds of employees into other areas like professional services, sales, and customer success."
AI has taken more jobs than it has created, and the trend is only getting worse.
— AshutoshShrivastava (@ai_for_success) September 3, 2025
Salesforce has cut 4,000 of its customer support roles, CEO Marc Benioff recently said while discussing how AI has helped reduce the company headcount. pic.twitter.com/V3D4DCaL93
AI Now Handles Half of Salesforce's Workload
The layoffs, however, highlight the broader impact of AI on the US job market. Workplace consultant Laurie Ruettimann pointed out that these kinds of disruptions are being seen across many different industries.
"There have been layoffs all over America directly attributed to AI," she noted, adding that workers will need to reskill to stay competitive.
Benioff, for his part, doesn't see Salesforce's changes as a bleak outlook. "I don't think it's dystopian at all," he said. "This is reality, at least for me."
The CEO has said before that AI now handles roughly 30% to 50% of Salesforce's tasks, covering areas like customer service and software development, TheNews reported.
The surge in adoption follows the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022, which triggered major investments in AI across the tech industry.
Critics argue that companies are using AI as a cover for correcting over-hiring during the pandemic.
Analyst Ed Zitron suggested that firms are eager to reassure investors by appearing more efficient, even if it means reduced human staffing.
"It's just a growth at all costs mindset," he said. "The only thing that's important is growth, even if it ruins people's lives."
Join the Conversation