Salesforce employees call on CEO Benioff to cancel ICE 'opportunities'

Core Viewpoint - Over 1,400 Salesforce employees have expressed their concerns regarding the company's potential business dealings with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), urging CEO Marc Benioff to cease all engagements with the agency [1][2]. Group 1: Employee Concerns - Employees are troubled by reports indicating that Salesforce is pitching AI technology to ICE to assist in hiring 10,000 new agents and managing tip-line reports [2]. - The letter from employees demands the cancellation of all active pitches to ICE and calls for a public statement against the presence of masked agents in U.S. cities [2]. - The letter highlights concerns that Salesforce's products may enable ICE to enhance its recruitment and operational capabilities [4]. Group 2: Context and Reactions - The employee letter follows incidents where ICE agents were involved in the deaths of U.S. citizens, raising ethical concerns about the agency's use of technology from companies like Salesforce [3]. - CEO Marc Benioff's recent comments about ICE at an employee gathering have drawn criticism from staff, further fueling discontent within the company [3]. - The letter also requests transparency regarding the services Salesforce provides to ICE and calls for a pause on any infrastructure or AI systems that could support ICE's operational scale-up [4]. Group 3: Company Performance and Market Reaction - Salesforce is facing challenges as its stock has declined approximately 27% in 2026, amid investor concerns about the impact of AI models on software company growth [5]. - Despite these challenges, Salesforce projected a growth rate of 9% to 10% for the current fiscal year, indicating a slight increase from previous periods [5].