Salesforce execs rebuke Marc Benioff's ICE jokes

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff made jokes about Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a company event, including one about ICE surveilling employees' travel, prompting anger among some staff.

Slack general manager Rob Seaman said in internal messages that he could not defend or explain the remarks, that they do not align with his personal values, and that he expects a statement addressing them. Seaman added that if no statement appears he will raise the matter on the next all‑Slack call and try to emphasize the positive acknowledgments from the morning at CKO.

Other leaders pushed for a public response. Vice president Craig Broscow urged Benioff to acknowledge the harm, writing that the attempted joke was upsetting to large segments of the employee base and was overshadowing recent successes. Salesforce has yet to respond to repeated requests about Benioff's comments and did not immediately reply to a request for comment for this story.

salesforce, marc benioff, ice, rob seaman, craig broscow, slack, surveillance, internal messages, employee backlash, cko