Salesforce’s AI Pivot- Why the Company Is Freezing Engineer Hiring While Spending Big on Anthropic
Salesforce is becoming one of the clearest examples of how artificial intelligence is changing the software industry from the inside. The company has reportedly slowed or frozen software engineering hiring while preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on Anthropic AI tokens. According to recent reports, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the company has “almost not hired engineers” over the past two years because AI coding agents have increased developer productivity. At the same time, Salesforce is expected to spend nearly $300 million on Anthropic tokens in 2026, with much of that usage tied to coding and AI-powered software development. The message is clear: Salesforce is not simply adding AI to its products. It is using AI to reshape how its own workforce operates. What Is Happening at Salesforce? Salesforce has reportedly kept its engineering headcount roughly flat at around 15,000 engineers while relying more heavily on AI coding tools. Benioff has said th...