Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff in hot water over ICE joke
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff landed in hot water after joking that ICE agents were keeping track of international employees during a Las Vegas event.
The comment, made on February 10, drew groans from the crowd and quickly prompted widespread discussion in internal Slack channels and was reported by multiple outlets.
Employees react to Benioff's joke
Many Salesforce employees voiced anger and disappointment across Slack channels.
One post said, "It's hard to believe this company still has values when you make completely off-base jokes about ICE," racking up almost 800 reactions.
Memes like "Are we the baddies?" reflected how the joke hit a nerve, especially given employees' fear about traveling for work and concern for international colleagues, and Salesforce's reported pitch to ICE to help hire 10,000 new agents with its Agentforce AI.
More than 1,400 employees sign letter urging Benioff to act
More than 1,400 employees signed a letter urging Benioff to speak out against ICE's "unconstitutional conduct," block Salesforce tech from being used for enforcement, and cite the recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
The strong response shows just how seriously staff took his words.
Benioff's past actions continue to spark debate
Benioff is known for bold statements—he backed Trump and National Guard deployment in San Francisco last year and fought against local ICE plans with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
His actions continue to spark debate inside and outside Salesforce.