Salesforce turns middle managers into individual contributors to boost efficiency, details here

By Divyanshi SharmaSalesforce made headlines at the beginning of this year when it announced its decision of letting go of 10 percent of its workforce globally. The company’s decision, that was made public in January, impacted around 7,000 people worldwide and a lot of ex-Salesforce employees shared their side of the story on social media. It was recently reported that Salesforce might be planning another round of layoffs too. While we haven’t heard anything concrete about a second round of layoffs at the company, reports suggest that the company is going through some changes in hopes of boosting efficiency. One of this is removing some middle managers and turning them into independent contributors.

Salesforce culls middle management layers

As per a report in Business Insider, two anonymous sources revealed that Salesforce is planning to eliminate some middle layers of management as a result of pressure from ‘activist investors’. As part of the changes, some managers will be transitioned to individual contributor roles, reducing the number of management layers within the company. The restructuring is aimed at simplifying the chain of command and boosting efficiency.

The report also states that Salesforce told the publication that “while some groups may have made some immaterial and minor adjustments, this is not a companywide initiative.” The spokesperson also added that the company is not “systematically moving managers to (become) individual contributors.”

Salesforce COO on new round of layoffs

Salesforce COO Brian Millham, in an interview with Bloomberg, had earlier hinted at a fresh round of layoffs that was in store for Salesforce employees.He said that Salesforce management might need to ‘change and reshape’ the company’s structure and if that happens, they will take the necessary steps to drive ‘efficiency’.

He said, “The structure of the organisation- if we feel like it needs to change and reshape – we are going to make those moves to drive the efficiencies.” He also told the publication that consultants Bain & Co were reviewing operations. However, they had not recommended anything yet.

Salesforce layoffs in January

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had announced the company’s decision to let go of 7,000 people via a letter sent to the employees. The letter read, “The environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions. For those who will be leaving Salesforce, our priority is to fully support them, including by offering a generous package. In the U.S., affected employees will receive a minimum of nearly five months of pay, health insurance, career resources, and other benefits to help with their transition. Those outside the U.S. will receive a similar level of support, and our local processes will align with employment laws in each country.”