Salesforce CEO and co-founder Marc Benioff is facing mounting criticism for a joke he made about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) monitoring international employees at an event for the company.
Employees were publicly outraged by Benioff’s comments at an internal meeting in Las Vegas on Tuesday, and leaders at Salesforce-owned Slack said he should apologize.
Benioff reportedly asked international employees to stand, before jokingly saying that ICE agents were present and monitoring them, drawing boos from the crowd, several employees told the media. Wired And 404 media. A recording of his speech published on an internal Salesforce site was edited to cut down on his comments about ICE, Business Insider reported.
The incident happened with hundreds of Salesforce workers Report plan to urge Benioff to denounce ICE and cancel future business with the agency, Wired and CNBC reported.
Like other billionaires, Benioff’s politics appear to have taken a significant turn during Trump’s second term. He has been associated with some liberal causes over the years, including a 2018 move in San Francisco to tax the city’s big corporations to fund homeless services. Interview with the Guardian Billionaires are criticized for “hoarding” their wealth.
The last fall was Benioff Said The New York Times said he “fully supports” the president and that Trump should send National Guard troops to San Francisco. Apologies And walking back to those comments. His company, which has long had contracts with ICE, has sought to increase its business with the agency.
Now he faces ire at his company and others with ties to Salesforce over comments he made about international employees, ICE and Bad Bunny’s recent Super Bowl performance without understanding. Employees denied his comments on Slack and LinkedIn.
Faron Rashid, Salesforce employee wrote that On the networking site: “I fear for my friends and colleagues on my team here at International Visas … I am shocked, angry, saddened and frustrated by the views espoused by the leadership at Salesforce this week. I’m sharing it here because, frankly, I fear retaliation.”
Rob Seaman, General Manager of Slack critical Benioff made the comments in an internal company message, according to Business Insider.
“I want to acknowledge the jokes that were made at CKO this morning,” Seaman wrote, the outlet reported. “I can’t justify or explain them. They don’t align with my personal values, and I know they do for many of you.”
Salesforce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
