Marc Benioff, the CEO and co-founder of Salesforce, is facing criticism from employees after making a joke about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) monitoring international staff during an internal company event. The remarks were made during his keynote address at a conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, drawing boos from the audience, according to multiple employees who spoke to Wired and 404Media.
Benioff reportedly asked international employees to stand before joking that ICE agents were present and watching them. A recording of the speech published on an internal Salesforce site was later edited to remove the comments about ICE, Business Insider reported. The incident comes as hundreds of Salesforce workers are reportedly planning to urge Benioff to denounce ICE and cancel future business with the agency, according to Wired and CNBC.
Employees have expressed outrage on platforms such as Slack and LinkedIn. Farone Rasheed, a Salesforce employee, wrote on LinkedIn: 'I am fearful for my friends and co-workers on my team who are here on international visas… I am shocked, angered, sad and frustrated by the views espoused by the leadership at Salesforce this week.' Rob Seaman, Slack's general manager, also criticised the remarks in an internal message, stating they did not align with his personal values.
Benioff's politics have shifted in recent years. He previously supported liberal causes, including a 2018 San Francisco measure to tax large corporations for homeless services, and criticised billionaires for hoarding wealth. However, last autumn he told the New York Times he 'fully supported' President Trump and suggested sending National Guard troops to San Francisco, before apologising. Salesforce has long held contracts with ICE and has sought to increase business with the agency.
Salesforce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
