Salesforce has figured out how to grow without hiring. The company is aggressively bringing in top AI talent not by expanding job openings, but by folding in small, specialized teams from startups like Moonhub. At the same time, it is using artificial intelligence to slow hiring across internal functions and reduce reliance on human workers altogether.
The contrast is sharp. Last week, Salesforce confirmed it had brought on the majority of Moonhub’s team, a Menlo Park-based startup that built AI systems for vetting, hiring, and onboarding talent. But the move wasn’t a formal acquisition. “Salesforce did not acquire Moonhub,” a spokesperson said. “The Moonhub business is winding down. We’re bringing over the majority of their small but talented team to join Salesforce.”
In parallel, Salesforce’s chief financial and operations officer Robin Washington told analysts that the company is hiring fewer people overall. “We have reduced some of our hiring needs,” she said on a recent call, crediting AI with boosting productivity and allowing Salesforce to reassign 500 customer support workers to new roles. The company estimates those changes saved $50 million. Washington also noted that the company now requires fewer software engineers. “We view these as assistants, but they are going to allow us to have to hire less and hopefully make our existing folks more productive.”
