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Salesforce CEO's ICE Joke Sparks Employee Outrage
12 Feb
Summary
- CEO Marc Benioff joked about ICE monitoring international employees.
- Employees condemned the remarks and plan to urge policy changes.
- Slack leaders criticized the jokes, stating they don't align with values.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is under fire following a joke made at an internal conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Benioff reportedly asked international employees to stand before jokingly stating that ICE agents were present and monitoring them, which elicited boos from the audience.
This incident has led to widespread employee outrage, with leaders at Slack, a Salesforce-owned company, calling for an apology. Hundreds of Salesforce workers are reportedly preparing to urge Benioff to denounce ICE and cease future business with the agency. Employee reactions shared on Slack and LinkedIn expressed fear and anger over the CEO's remarks.
One Salesforce employee, Farone Rasheed, voiced concerns about colleagues on international visas, stating, "I fear retaliation for that." Rob Seaman, Slack's general manager, acknowledged the offensive nature of the jokes in an internal message, admitting they could not be defended and did not align with personal values.
