- Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff made jokes about ICE during an employee event, internal messages show.
- Some employees took to Slack to express anger and disappointment.
- The comments came during Salesforce’s employee-only “Company Kickoff.”
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff angered some employees by making jokes about Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a company event, according to internal messages viewed by Business Insider.
Salesforce’s employee-only “Company Kickoff” is happening this week in Las Vegas. The event is also livestreamed internally. Business Insider did not view the livestream.
Salesforce did not immediately reply to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Dozens of Slack messages say that Benioff made “multiple” jokes about ICE agents, including about ICE surveilling employee travel.
“A joke about ICE surveilling employees’ travel, when there are literally employees afraid to travel for work due to current situation,” one employee wrote, according to a screenshot viewed by Business Insider.
“It’s hard to believe this company still has values when you make completely off-base jokes about ICE in your opening keynote,” another employee wrote. “That’s unacceptable.”
“I’m deeply disappointed and uncomfortable that two jokes about ICE were made in the first few minutes of Marc’s opening keynote,” a third employee wrote. “The fact that the first was made after welcoming our teammates who traveled from outside the US? Even worse. We have many great things to be proud of and stand behind at this company, but these tasteless, insensitive jokes have made it hard to focus on that message. I’m going to have to take a break from watching to regroup.”
The comments come after Salesforce earlier this month laid off some employees and appointed new leaders to replace five high-profile leaders who have announced departures since December.
Benioff previously suggested that President Donald Trump should deploy the National Guard to San Francisco ahead of the company’s Dreamforce conference. He later apologized.
It’s not the first time Benioff faced backlash from staff for his comments at company meetings.
After Salesforce announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce in 2023, Benioff launched into a meandering two-hour talk that some employees characterized as “tone-deaf.” He joked at the time about the layoffs ruining one executive’s birthday and about being “thrilled” about the coronavirus pandemic for allowing him to work from home.
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