Salesforce reveals major hiring push to sell AI products

(Image credit: Future / Mike Moore)

Marc Benioff confirms 2,000 new sales rep jobs are becoming availableDespite previous layoffs, 9,000 referrals for the roles have already been receivedSalesforce quarterly revenue continues to climb, now at $9.44 billionFollowing years of pandemic-induced layoffs, software giant Salesforce has confirmed plans to hire 2,000 new sales representatives to help it handle increased demand for its new AI tools.

Company CEO Marc Benioff revealed (via CNBC) at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference that thousands of workers would be added to its headcount, which at the beginning of 2024 stood at more than 72,600.

At the event, he added: “We’re adding another couple of thousand salespeople to help sell these products… We already had 9,000 referrals for the 2,000 positions that we’ve opened up. It’s amazing.”

Salesforce opens up 2,000 new positionsSalesforce has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, and is set to release the second generation of its Agentoforce in February 2025. Updates are also expected for the Salesforce-owned communications platform, Slack.

With strong competition from Microsoft, which has affiliations with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Benioff has been pushing the company’s AI toward sales representatives, marketers and customer service agents in the race to become the go-to software provider.

The expansion plans are two-sided, though, because while thousands of workers are set to get new opportunities, many have been made redundant as a result of Salesforce’s tech. The company’s AI agent handles 32,000 customer queries weekly, with human intervention halving from 10,000 cases per week to just 5,000.

More broadly, plans to hire 2,000 new members of staff contrast with previous moves. Two separate rounds of layoffs in 2024 have seen around 1,000 workers dismissed (via layoffs.fyi), with more than 8,000 leaving the company in 2023 and a further 1,000 in 2022.

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All part of an effort to cut costs, Salesforce’s previous layoffs could be seen more as a restructuring and a shift in priorities. In the three months ending October 31, the company reported $9.44 billion in revenue, up 8% year-over-year.

Benioff commented: “Agentforce, our complete AI system for enterprises built into the Salesforce Platform, is at the heart of a groundbreaking transformation. The rise of autonomous AI agents is revolutionizing global labor, reshaping how industries operate and scale. With Agentforce, we’re not just witnessing the future—we’re leading it, unleashing a new era of digital labor for every business and every industry.”

Previous quarterly revenues have climbed 8%, 11% and 11%, marking consistent growth for the company.

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With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!