AI Sparks Layoff Wave, Industry Reflects on Workforce Management
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Apr 12 2026
0mins
Should l Buy CRM?
Source: Yahoo Finance
- Layoffs Linked to AI: An increasing number of companies are citing artificial intelligence in their layoff announcements, with Salesforce cutting 4,000 customer support jobs and stating that AI now handles 50% of its workload, indicating the profound impact of AI on corporate operations.
- Executive Anxiety Intensifies: May Habib, CEO of AI platform Writer, noted that Fortune 500 executives are experiencing a 'collective panic attack,' reflecting deep concerns about the potential job losses due to AI advancements.
- Shift in Skill Demand: As AI automation rises, the demand for interpersonal skills is increasing, with Coursera's CEO Greg Hart reporting a threefold increase in enrollment for critical thinking courses over the past year, highlighting the importance of human skills in the future workforce.
- Insufficient Job Preparation: Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore warned that failing to prepare for the loss of knowledge work jobs could repeat the mistakes of the globalization era, emphasizing the need for a real action plan to address impending career transitions.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy CRM?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on CRM
Wall Street analysts forecast CRM stock price to rise
39 Analyst Rating
29 Buy
9 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 181.220
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
Current: 181.220
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
About CRM
Salesforce, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) technology company. Its artificial intelligence (AI) powered Agentforce 360 Platform offers sales, service, marketing, commerce, collaboration, data management, integration, analytics, and information technology (IT) service solutions. It enables customers to build and deploy digital labor for employees and customers, leveraging autonomous AI agents across business functions. Its service offerings include Agentforce Sales, Agentforce Service, Agentforce 360 Platform, Slack and Others. The Agentforce Sales provides sales capabilities and tools built for organizations across prospecting, sales engagement, team collaboration, sales analytics and AI, sales programs, sales performance, partner management, and revenue and orders. The Agentforce Service provides field service solutions that enable companies to connect service agents, dispatchers and mobile employees through platform to schedule, dispatch and manage jobs.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- NVIDIA Stake Increase: Bridgewater increased its position in NVIDIA by over 54% last quarter, making it approximately 2.6% of the portfolio, reflecting strong confidence in AI chip infrastructure as the company reported a 73% year-over-year revenue increase to $68.13 billion, suggesting robust future demand.
- Semiconductor Supply Chain Investment: Bridgewater's second-largest tech holding is Lam Research, accounting for about 1.9% of the portfolio, and despite a modest 12% reduction last quarter, the company reported a 22% year-over-year revenue increase to $5.34 billion, indicating significant long-term growth potential driven by rising AI demand.
- Salesforce Software Positioning: Bridgewater holds approximately 1.8% in Salesforce, which saw a slight reduction, yet its Agentforce platform's annual recurring revenue surged 169% year-over-year to $800 million, showcasing strong growth in enterprise AI software, with management raising the FY30 revenue target to $63 billion.
- Alphabet Cloud Investment: Bridgewater maintains a significant position in Alphabet, representing about 1.8% of the portfolio, and despite a 40% reduction last quarter, Google Cloud's revenue jumped 48% year-over-year to $17.66 billion, indicating strong long-term benefits in AI and cloud computing, with planned capital expenditures of $175 billion to $185 billion in 2026.
See More
- Buy Rating Reaffirmed: On April 10, Truist Securities reaffirmed its Buy rating on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) with a price target of $280, reflecting confidence in the company's growth prospects, particularly in the second half of fiscal year 2027.
- Growth Potential Analysis: Truist highlighted that Salesforce is poised to benefit from the agentic AI innovation cycle, new customer opportunities, and changes in pricing and packaging related to AI agents, which will drive accelerated growth and strengthen its market position.
- Share Repurchase Program: Salesforce recently announced a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its own valuation, while also reflecting its strong competitive position in the agentic AI space, with the stock trading at about 9.5 times its estimated free cash flow for calendar year 2027, suggesting significant undervaluation.
- Slackbot Innovation Potential: Truist also pointed out the potential of agentic AI within Slackbot, which it believes is not fully recognized, and expects further updates and innovations related to Agentforce at the upcoming TDX developer conference, which could further propel the company's business development.
See More
- Market Rebound: The S&P 500 surged 4% last week, closing above 7,100 for the first time, while the Nasdaq achieved its longest winning streak since 1992 with 13 consecutive days of gains, reflecting optimism over a potential peace deal with Iran.
- Rapid Recovery: The S&P 500 rebounded from near correction territory (down about 9%) to an all-time high in just 11 trading days, marking the fastest recovery since at least 1990, indicating strong investor sentiment amid geopolitical developments.
- Software Stock Comeback: Beaten-down software stocks like Microsoft, CrowdStrike, and Salesforce emerged as top gainers, with Microsoft up 14% week-to-date, CrowdStrike gaining 11.9%, and Salesforce rising 10.4%, suggesting a renewed confidence in the software sector.
- Strong Consumer Spending: JPMorgan reported consumer spending growth exceeding 2025 levels, with credit card spending volume up 9% year-over-year, showcasing resilience among consumers and small businesses despite market volatility driven by the war.
See More
- Distorted Demand Signals: While AI demand appears explosive, CEO Dario Amodei of Anthropic highlights that data centers take 1-2 years to build, leading companies to commit billions without verified demand, risking customer loss or delayed revenues, which could impact financial stability.
- Pricing Model Shift: Anthropic is transitioning from flat-rate enterprise pricing to per-token billing, ensuring that revenue reflects actual usage, a strategy aimed at addressing the economic imbalance caused by changes in agentic AI usage patterns, thereby enhancing the company's competitive position in the market.
- Increasing Industry Pressure: As the AI industry gradually accepts per-token billing models, companies like OpenAI face similar transformation pressures, potentially leading their customers to reassess AI usage efficiency, which could affect future market performance and investor confidence.
- Investor Focus: Anthropic and OpenAI are expected to pursue IPOs this year, with investors likely to first scrutinize the authenticity of demand; Anthropic's per-token billing provides clearer data on customer value, while OpenAI may face greater challenges in proving the authenticity of its growth figures.
See More
- Salesforce Options Volume: Salesforce Inc saw options trading volume of 61,385 contracts, equating to approximately 6.1 million shares, which represents about 45.2% of its average daily trading volume of 13.6 million shares over the past month, indicating strong market interest in its future performance.
- High Call Option Activity: Within Salesforce, the $185 strike call option has seen 5,234 contracts traded today, representing around 523,400 underlying shares, suggesting that investors have a strong bullish outlook for the stock ahead of its April 2026 expiration.
- Fortinet Options Trading Dynamics: Fortinet Inc's options trading volume reached 29,494 contracts, approximately 2.9 million shares, accounting for 44.7% of its average daily trading volume of 6.6 million shares over the past month, reflecting active market interest in its stock.
- Put Option Trading Volume: For Fortinet, the $76 strike put option has recorded a trading volume of 7,224 contracts today, representing about 722,400 shares, indicating investor concerns regarding potential declines in the stock before its April 2026 expiration.
See More
- Energy Stocks Plummet: Energy stocks fell sharply as oil prices dropped over 12% after Iran opened the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, with APA Corporation down more than 9% and Valero Energy falling over 8.5%, negatively impacting overall confidence in the energy sector.
- Travel Stocks Rally: Following Iran's announcement to open the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping, Royal Caribbean surged 9.7%, United Airlines jumped over 9%, and Expedia gained 5%, reflecting optimistic market sentiment regarding travel recovery.
- Critical Metals Surge: Greenland's government approved the transfer of a 50.5% interest in Tanbreez Mining to Critical Metals, increasing its stake in the rare earths mine to 92.5%, which propelled the company's shares up over 40%, highlighting the strategic importance of rare earth resources.
- Netflix Disappoints: Streaming giant Netflix saw its stock drop 9% as it projected second-quarter earnings of 78 cents per share, missing the 84 cents forecast by analysts, compounded by co-founder Reed Hastings' announcement to leave the board in June, further dampening investor confidence.
See More











