Salesforce slows hiring, according to internal memo

Salesforce will slow hiring and cut back other expenses, according to a Wednesday report from Insider. The company will join Meta, Netflix, Coinbase, Uber and others that have slowed or frozen hiring in recent weeks.

Per an internal memo, cutbacks will include corporate travel and some upcoming off-sites, Insider reported.

The reversal would be noteworthy for Salesforce, which held several glitzy employee and customer conferences in the past month amid a push to sell technology that helps companies "safely" hold in-person events. And apart from a round of layoffs in 2020, Salesforce has remained one of Silicon Valley's most aggressive recruitment engines, touting various internship initiatives as recently as last month.

"We hired 20,000 employees over the past year and are hiring another 4,000 employees this quarter alone. Business travel remains an important part of how we serve our customers," a spokesperson from Salesforce told Protocol.

Software companies are under immense pressure to improve their margins in the face of a looming economic slowdown, leading to cost-cutting measures and changes to hiring strategy. For Salesforce, it's especially paramount to show financial stability to Wall Street following its $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack. Executives at the software giant have ruled out any large deals and, instead, will focus on integrating Slack and continuing to improve operating margins.

Salesforce’s stock price has sunk almost 50% in the last six months. After a pandemic boom, it’s a theme in Big Tech now as the market slumps and investor sentiment suffers.

Additional reporting by Amber Burton.