Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has sparked a wave of negative reactions among employees due to an unfortunate joke during a company event in Las Vegas. Benioff joked about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to "keep tabs" on international employees who had traveled to the United States for the meeting.

Internal Reactions

The joke immediately ignited discussions on Salesforce's internal Slack channels. Many employees expressed shock and disbelief. Some created an emoji with the words "ICE OUT" as a form of protest. Others shared links to donate to organizations that support immigrants.

Controversial Context

The negative reaction is also linked to the controversial collaboration between Salesforce and ICE. In the past, Salesforce has provided services to the government agency, including the ability to use artificial intelligence for hiring. This collaboration has already generated discontent among employees, who felt offended by the CEO's joke.

Background

This is not the first time Salesforce has been at the center of controversy related to ICE. In October 2025, the company offered to help ICE triple its staff by hiring 10,000 new agents.