Salesforce's Downsizing Plans Hit Its Tableau Division Most

Benzinga · 01/06/2023 13:17
  • Salesforce, Inc's (NYSE:CRM) Tableau unit was hit harder than other units in the company's largest-ever round of jobs cuts this week, signaling the futility of the $15.7 billion acquisition.
  • Salesforce fired Tableau CEO Mark Nelson and more senior staff in December as part of its downsizing plans, Bloomberg reports.
  • Job reductions at Tableau were more significant, proportionally than the company at large thus far.
  • After a half-decade of fast hiring and significant acquisitions, Salesforce aimed to slash costs and integrate the acquired companies better.
  • The 8,000 job cuts were less than half the number of employees hired during the pandemic. They followed the exit of co-CEO Bret Taylor and the elimination of hundreds of sales positions in November.
  • Acquisitions had fueled the company's headcount growth. 
  • The Tableau deal in 2019 came with 4,200 employees, while Slack, purchased in 2021, and Mulesoft, acquired in 2018, added another 3,700. 
  • The three transactions combined cost almost $50 billion, with the estimated $27.7 billion for Slack leading the way, Bloomberg noted.
  • The Tableau unit has trailed the rest of the company in sales growth since the acquisition. 
  • Salesforce also plans to pare back its office footprint. It currently has four offices in the Seattle area, more than any other city.
  • Salesforce restructured Tableau and the other major acquired units.
  • In December, three top Slack executives, including co-founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield, left, and Salesforce executive Lidiane Jones now leads the division. 
  • Most of the executives listed on Tableau's leadership site when Salesforce shared plans to acquire it have since left the company. 
  • Price Action: CRM shares traded lower by 0.98% at $135.01 premarket on the last check Thursday.