(Adds details on real estate, background on layoffs, offices)
Jan 6 (Reuters) – Cloud-based software firm Salesforce Inc is looking to cut costs by $3 billion to $5 billion, Chief Executive Marc Benioff told company insiders this week after announcing layoffs, Fortune reported citing an audio recording of a meeting.
Salesforce said on Wednesday that it plans to cut jobs by 10% and close some offices, after rapid pandemic hiring left it with a bloated workforce amid an economic slowdown.
Real estate will be a major part of the cost restructuring process, Benioff told employees in a meeting, the report said. He added that the company is still growing and is very successful.
According to a company blog post, Salesforce has 110 offices globally in 89 cities.
“We don’t need the same level of real estate that we had pre-pandemic,” Benioff reportedly told staff.
Big tech firms have slashed thousands of jobs in the past year, in preparation for a potential recession as interest rate hikes intensify around the world to curb inflation.
Salesforce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
