Salesforce has announced plans to cut about 10 per cent of its workforce, becoming the latest tech group to reverse a recent hiring binge in the face of slowing demand and growing unrest on Wall Street.

The US software company had nearly 80,000 workers at the end of October, about 6,500 more than in January. But staff numbers surged 30 per cent the year before with the addition of nearly 17,000 employees as Salesforce joined a hiring spree by big tech companies for what they believed would be a lasting increase in demand for digital services caused by the pandemic.

In a letter to staff on Wednesday, co-founder and chief executive Marc Benioff blamed the retrenchment on worsening business conditions, but admitted to misreading the strength of demand as the Covid-19 crisis eased.