Salesforce has laid off 86 AI, software and marketing employees and plans to eliminate 1,000 more in September. As the company continues to shift aggressively toward artificial intelligence, the layoffs come only a few months after roughly 1,000 jobs were eliminated earlier this year.
According to filings under California’s WARN Act, the cuts affect teams working on Agentforce, Salesforce’s flagship AI platform, MuleSoft, its IT integration tool and Marketing Cloud, a key digital marketing product. Sales, administration, technology and product development have been affected. The employees will remain on payroll until August 7, 2026.
The company has offered generous severance packages, with up to 30 weeks of base pay based on tenure, seniority and age. People aged 60 and above will receive an additional four weeks of severance while COBRA health coverage will extend for six months or a year for older staff. These are among the most comprehensive in the industry, but they don’t do much to ease fears of repeated job cuts.
Salesforce employs more than 80,000 people worldwide, and India has been a major hub with offices in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Gurugram and Jaipur. This round of layoffs has not specifically targeted Indian operations, but analysts believe India could play a more significant role in the development of next‑generation AI products as the company re-organizes its workforce.
Salesforce shares have fallen by more than 30% in 2026, in line with investor worries about how fast AI is evolving and how it will affect enterprise software. But the company is still investing heavily in Agentforce which recently crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue. In addition to Data 360, recurring revenue has grown by 200% year-on-year to $3.4 billion.
Salesforce’s recent layoffs underscore the disruptive impact of AI on enterprise software. While the company is cutting jobs in divisions that are key to its future growth, it’s also betting big on AI platforms to drive growth. The move highlights both the risk and the hope of technological transformation, and employees and investors alike should be on watch for the next chapter in Salesforce’s transformation.
