Last updated: February 28, 2023 at 9:47 p.m. ET
First published: February 28, 2023 at 9:40 p.m. ET
As Salesforce Inc. cut jobs and looked for ways to cut costs, it also reportedly paid actor Matthew McConaughey more than $10 million a year to serve as a creative adviser and TV presenter.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that McConaughey, a friend of Salesforce founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff, was receiving an eight-figure cash and equity compensation package. The deal was large enough to be approved by Salesforce’s compensation committee, the Journal reported….
As Salesforce Inc. cut jobs and looked for ways to cut costs, it also reportedly paid actor Matthew McConaughey more than $10 million a year to serve as a creative adviser and TV presenter.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that McConaughey, a friend of Salesforce founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff, was receiving an eight-figure cash and equity compensation package. The deal was large enough to be approved by Salesforce’s compensation committee, the Journal reported. Benioff told the Journal he had no role in the deal.
In January, Salesforce
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announced plans to lay off about 10% of its workforce as part of a restructuring effort, and in the Journal report, Benioff discussed a proposal—later dropped—to rank employees and regularly lay off employees. less efficient. This year the company ditched a number of amenities amid the belt-tightening, including ‘wellness’ days and in-house baristas, and severed ties with a company retreat it boasted as recently as last fall. The Journal did not say whether McConaughey’s deal was being reviewed.
Also see: Opinion: Marc Benioff’s Salesforce fairy tale is crumbling around him
It was also unclear when the deal was signed, but McConaughey appeared at Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce conference in September, speaking about his presidential ambitions, and starred in a Salesforce TV commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. in 2022.
The ad, featuring McConaughey wearing an astronaut suit riding in a hot air balloon and talking about engaging with the world, reportedly cost around $5 million. McConaughey starred in another Salesforce TV commercial promoting sustainability that debuted during the NFL’s final Thanksgiving games.
Benioff said those marketing costs were a drop in the ocean for a company with 70,000 employees, the Journal reported.
Oscar-winning actor McConaughey is said to have a net worth of around $160 million.
Salesforce will release its quarterly results on Wednesday and is under intense pressure from activist investors looking to maximize their profits.
Salesforce shares are up 23% year-to-date, but have fallen another 22% in the past 12 months and have lost about half their value since peaking in November 2021. Comparatively, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
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of which Salesforce is a component, lost 1.5% in 2023 and 1.9% over the past year.