Layoffs at major US tech firms continue to hit Canada, Salesforce joins Amazon, Meta, Twitter.
Canadian workers continue to feel the impact of mass layoffs at American tech giants as Salesforce reveals staff cuts.
The customer relationship management software firm shared plans to lay off 10 percent of its staff and reduce its real estate holdings on Wednesday in a regulatory filing. As of late last year, Salesforce had about 80,000 employees, indicating that these cuts could affect as many as 8,000 employees.
Mass Big Tech layoffs continue to hit Canada with Salesforce cuts.
Salesforce workers in Canada have been impacted by these layoffs, according to multiple social media posts from impacted employees viewed by BetaKit. BetaKit has reached out to Salesforce to confirm how many employees were affected, but the company had not responded by publication time.
These layoffs show that Canadian employees continue to feel the effects of mass staff cuts at Big Tech firms like Salesforce, Meta, Twitter, and e-commerce giant Amazon, which also announced further layoffs on Wednesday.
In a message to Amazon employees, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company plans to eliminate just over 18,000 roles. This figure is nearly double the 10,000 employee amount previously reported by The New York Times in November 2022, when the cuts began. It also represents the highest reduction tally revealed in the past year at a major tech company, according to layoff tracking website Layoffs.fyi.
Although there has not been any indication that Amazon employees in Canada will be impacted by these additional cuts, as BetaKit previously reported, the layoffs that began in November impacted the company’s Canadian workforce.
BetaKit has reached out to Amazon for comment, but the company had not responded by publication time.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, the cuts affect about five percent of Amazon’s corporate workforce, and 1.2 percent of its overall 1.5 million-member workforce. Employees haven’t been informed yet whether they will be affected—the company said it will begin notifying them later this month.
Leading up to its staff cuts, Salesforce had nearly tripled the size of its team over the past four years. Some of this growth has been fueled by acquisitions. These deals have included the purchase of Canadian tech firms Slack and Traction on Demand.
Although multiple social media posts indicate that Slack’s workforce was reduced as part of Salesforce’s recent layoffs, it remains unclear whether Canadian Slack or Traction on Demand employees have been impacted by the staff cuts.
These mass layoffs come as Salesforce has seen a number of recent executive departures, including Slack founding CEO Stewart Butterfield, who is set to leave the firm this month.
RELATED: Layoffs persist at Canadian tech companies amid bleak outlook for 2023
In a January 4 letter to employees, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the firm overhired during COVID-19 and acknowledged that in 2023, the firm faces tougher market conditions.
“The environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions,” said Benioff. “As our revenue accelerated through the pandemic, we hired too many people leading into this economic downturn we’re now facing, and I take responsibility for that.”
North of the border, Canadian tech companies have certainly not been immune from these conditions. As BetaKit has previously reported, at least 27 firms of various sizes, across sectors and geographies, recently laid off staff in preparation for what is expected to be a challenging 2023.
This group is far from alone. According to Layoffs.fyi, 1018 tech companies globally have laid off nearly 154,000 employees since the beginning of 2022, as of publication time.
Feature image courtesy Salesforce.
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