Salesforce cuts 50% of support staff with AI while warning against eliminating junior roles

Salesforce UK&I CEO Zahra Bahrololoumi warns businesses against sacrificing entry-level positions to AI automation, despite the company’s own 50% reduction in customer support roles through agentic AI tools. Speaking at Dreamforce 2025, she emphasized that companies need human workers to effectively manage and orchestrate AI-human collaboration in the workplace.

What they’re saying: Bahrololoumi maintains her bold prediction that AI’s potential exceeds that of the internet while stressing responsible adoption.

• “We have to go through that in every innovation cycle. We adapt and adjust, and AI is embedded now. I don’t think we will go back, the people who will thrive will be the ones who work with AI responsibly.”
• “Our message here is: do not sacrifice your entry-level jobs because you do need people that can work through that function, that process that can work alongside the AI to be able to manage and lead that composition of digital and human capital.”

The contradiction: Salesforce’s internal AI success has already eliminated thousands of human roles, creating tension with Bahrololoumi’s public messaging.

• CEO Marc Benioff recently revealed the company reduced customer support positions by approximately 50% using its own agentic AI tools.
• This reduction demonstrates the very displacement Bahrololoumi warns other companies against implementing.

In plain English: Agentic AI tools are software programs that can work independently to complete tasks, like answering customer questions or processing requests, without needing constant human oversight—similar to having a very capable assistant that can handle routine work on its own.

Why entry-level workers matter: Companies that eliminate junior positions risk losing the human expertise needed to manage AI-human workflows effectively.

• “If companies eliminate entry-level hiring, they will not have the right skill profile to be able to orchestrate and manage the duality, or maybe the multimodality, that will be our future,” Bahrololoumi explained.
• Mid-market businesses particularly benefit from AI because they lack resources to scale human teams but can leverage technology for growth without increasing headcount.

UK market positioning: Salesforce views Britain as a strategic AI hub with significant growth potential.

• The UK represents the third-largest AI market globally, trailing only the US and China.
• Salesforce’s recent acquisition of Convergence.ai, a UK-based AI company, provides local engineering and R&D capabilities outside North America for the first time.

Looking ahead: Bahrololoumi predicts the convergence of AI with robotics and operational technology will create “a profound next chapter” for business automation and workplace transformation.