Salesforce Employees Demand CEO Marc Benioff Cut Ties With ICE After Controversial Joke Sparks Backlash: Report
Salesforce Employees Demand CEO Marc Benioff Cut Ties With ICE After Controversial Joke Sparks Backlash: Report
Namrata SenThu, February 12, 2026 at 7:31 PM UTC
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Employees at Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) are reportedly urging CEO Marc Benioff to publicly condemn the recent actions of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while also calling for the prohibition of Salesforce software by immigration agents and support for federal legislation to reform the agency.
Backlash After Benioff’s ICE Joke
An internal letter addressed to Benioff is being circulated among Salesforce employees, Wired reported on Tuesday. During Salesforce's annual leadership kickoff, a group of employees organized a letter criticizing the company's reported pitch of AI tools to ICE to help speed up the hiring of 10,000 agents and review tip-line reports. The employees contend that such involvement conflicts with Salesforce's stated commitment to the ethical use of technology.
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The letter also highlights Benioff’s "unique weight in Washington," and urges him to use it to issue a public statement condemning ICE’s conduct and to establish “red lines” prohibiting the use of Salesforce’s cloud and AI products for state violence.
The development followed an earlier report by 404 Media that the CEO faced backlash after joking during a Las Vegas all-hands meeting that ICE agents were in the building monitoring international employees. The remark was made while thanking overseas staff who had traveled to the U.S.
Salesforce did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.
There has been a growing trend of tech employees to take a stand against their companies’ ties with government agencies. Last week, over a thousand Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) employees urged the company to end its contracts with federal immigration enforcement agencies and provide more transparency on how its technology is used by these agencies.
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Workforce Cuts Amid AI Shift
Meanwhile, Salesforce has been making headlines for other reasons as well. A Tuesday report suggested that the company recently trimmed its workforce amid a shift towards AI. The company also named six new or promoted executives to head key units, including Agentforce and Slack, replacing five prominent leaders who have exited since December.
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In September 2025, Salesforce eliminated 4,000 customer support roles, reducing its support workforce from 9,000 to 5,000 employees, Benioff said on the Logan Bartlett Podcast.
Shares Hit 52-Week Low Amid Selloff
The company’s stock hit a fresh 52-week low last week, following a series of disappointing earnings reports from software companies SAP (NYSE:SAP) and ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW). The drop was also a result of a wider sell-off across technology stocks.
Salesforce is due to report fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, Feb. 25, after markets close.
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