Salesforce (CRM) stock was down on Wednesday after the CEO of the cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform confirmed it has cut 4,000 jobs thanks to AI. According to Marc Benioff, this has reduced the number of customer service employees at Salesforce to 5,000. The CEO noted during The Logan Bartlett Show that, “I’ve reduced it from 9,000 heads to about 5,000, because I need less heads.”
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Benioff’s comments highlight the use of AI to reduce workloads and cut costs. This is something that CEOs around the world have been clamoring for since the introduction of ChatGPT three years ago. While some have criticized the use of AI to cut jobs belonging to real people, Benioff doesn’t see the issue. Instead, he said, “I don’t think it’s dystopian at all. This is reality, at least for me.”
Reducing workforces with AI is still a controversial topic. Workers across many industries have experienced cuts due to the enhancements that AI offers. However, Benioff noted that humans are still at the core of the company, and that many of the 4,000 affected by the job cuts were transferred to other roles at Salesforce.
Salesforce Stock Movement Today
Salesforce stock saw minuscule movement on Wednesday. 2025 has been a rough year for the shares, with a 24.24% drop year-to-date. Even so, CRM stock is still up 2.09% over the past 12 months.
Investors will gain more insight into the company’s recent performance when it reports earnings after markets close today.
Is Salesforce Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Salesforce is Moderate Buy, based on 16 Buy and eight Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average CRM stock price target of $333.68, representing a potential 31.76% upside for the shares.
