Salesforce Cuts 4,000 Customer Support Roles, Leaning on AI Agents

San Francisco, September 2, 2025 - Salesforce announced today that it has laid off approximately 4,000 customer support employees as part of a broader shift toward artificial intelligence-driven operations. CEO Marc Benioff confirmed during an appearance on the Logan Bartlett podcast that the company’s support workforce has been reduced from about 9,000 to 5,000 employees, with AI agents now handling roughly 50 percent of customer interactions.

Benioff described the past eight months as “the most exciting of my career,” highlighting how AI integration has enabled Salesforce to “rebalance” headcount without compromising service quality. The firm’s “omnichannel supervisor” system monitors both AI and human agents, flagging tasks that require human intervention in a manner Benioff likened to a Tesla’s self-driving hand-off mechanism.

The layoffs mark a reversal from Benioff’s July statements downplaying AI-driven mass unemployment in white-collar roles. He previously argued that AI would augment rather than replace workers, emphasizing the need for human oversight due to accuracy limitations. However, the rapid deployment of Salesforce’s Agentforce platform, which now autonomously manages millions of customer service and sales leads, has driven the decision to cut support costs by an estimated 17 percent year-to-date.

Alongside support, AI-powered sales processes are addressing a backlog of over 100 million uncalled leads accumulated over 26 years. Benioff noted that “agentic sales” now follow up on every inquiry, transforming the company’s approach to lead management and customer engagement.

Salesforce’s shift reflects a broader industry trend toward automating routine, high-volume tasks in tech and beyond. While experts predict increased demand for roles involving AI supervision, complex problem-solving, and critical thinking, customer service positions centered on repetitive duties face heightened vulnerability in an AI-reshaped labor market.