Salesforce quietly terminated the employment of a popular diversity executive

• Salesforce quietly released diversity executive Jacalyn Chapman in May, sources tell Insider.
• The company told some employees Chapman’s role was being eliminated, one of the people said.
• Salesforce is facing a discrimination lawsuit from another diversity executive.

Salesforce fired a popular diversity, equity, and inclusion executive in May, according to people familiar with the situation. People who asked not to be identified were discussing sensitive issues.

Jacalyn Chapman worked at Salesforce for 12 years, most recently as vice president of equality, employee advocacy, and belonging. Although the details of her dismissal are unknown, one employee stated that some employees were informed that her position was being eliminated. Salesforce did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.

According to the people who spoke with Insider, she was well-liked by colleagues and was known for having a direct line to Salesforce executives such as CEO Marc Benioff and Chief People Officer Brent Hyder. Following her departure, dozens of employees thanked Chapman for her contributions to Salesforce on an online card seen by Insider.

Salesforce’s dismissal of Chapman, a Black woman, comes at a time when the company has been aggressively cutting headcount and costs. Chief Business Officer Ebony Beckwith, Salesforce’s sole Black executive, also left the company in May.

Salesforce is also facing a discrimination lawsuit from another Black woman who worked as a senior director in the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion unit known as the Office of Equality, as previously reported by Insider. According to the lawsuit, she was denied a promotion to vice president despite performing tasks that others in the role did, and she was held to different standards than her white colleagues. These allegations are denied by the company.

Salesforce, led by the philanthropic Benioff, has long aspired to be the tech industry’s champion for social justice. However, a group of activist investors has put pressure on Salesforce to focus on profit. It announced earlier this year that it would lay off 10% of its global workforce, sell some real estate, and hire Bain & Company to help it restructure. Many of the layoffs have been in sales, recruiting, and marketing roles, as well as positions in some of the companies it has acquired, such as Tableau, Mulesoft, and Slack.

Some employees claim that the company’s culture is changing dramatically as a result of the increased emphasis on budgets and profits.