Salesforce issued a statement on December 30, 2025, clarifying its artificial intelligence strategy and recent workforce adjustments. The company directly addressed reports claiming it had laid off 4,000 employees to replace them with AI agents, stating these claims were inaccurate.
Salesforce characterized the changes as a strategic redeployment of roles. This move aims to bolster sales and distribution capacity, rather than representing a reduction in the overall workforce.
The company also pushed back on the idea that it is retreating from large language models (LLMs). Salesforce emphasizes that its current approach focuses on optimizing AI for production-scale deployments. These deployments require accurate data, governance, and predictable outcomes.
The clarification stems from confusion surrounding an August 2025 video interview featuring CEO Marc Benioff. Salesforce seeks to manage the narrative regarding its AI implementation and employee strategy.