Salesforce is considering a pay freeze for its organizational leaders, but they won’t be left entirely without a few perks. A new email seen by Business Insider revealed that Salesforce has decided to make changes to the compensation plan for employees operating at the director level or above, with these workers set to receive other forms of benefits instead. Instead of raises, the “highest performing individuals” among the upper echelons will receive stock and bonus pools instead, targeting “investment in performance and long-term growth.”
We’ve already seen other organizations turn to performance-based pay for CEOs and higher-ranking officials as a way to encourage executives to steer the company towards growth, and Salesforce’s executive salary freeze, while a slightly different strategy, appears tailored towards a similar mode of compensation. Is 2026 the year we see a more comprehensive change in global organizational compensation strategy?
Salesforce has announced a pay freeze for leaders at its organization, exploring alternate rewards to keep its top performers motivated. (Image: Pexels)
Retention Through Equity: Salesforce Is Enforcing a Pay Freeze for Its Leaders, But Alternate Rewards Await
Performance reviews at Salesforce are set to begin at the end of March, where employees will be evaluated, assessed, and informed of any raises or changes to their employment status at the organization. While yearly raises are commonly expected at this time, employees at the director-level and above now know that they will be faced with a salary freeze. “We have decided to focus merit increases at the Senior Manager level (grade 8) and below,” the company explained in the email seen by BI.
As a part of the pay freeze and alternate compensation plan for leaders at Salesforce, 10% more directors and senior directors are receiving stock grants, with higher average values across the board. About 80% of the top-rated leaders also received a significant equity boost of 20% to 40%. Additionally, with the bonus pool funded at 103%, the majority of eligible leaders received at least 100% of their targets, while exceptional performers received payouts reaching as high as 140% of their bonuses.
Why the Executive Salary Freeze at Salesforce Might Still Work Well for the Business
By expanding the reach and size of the stock grants, the company appears to be leaning into equity as a primary retention tool, without relying on cash expenses to drain the business of its existing resources further. Even while offering no raises for senior executives in 2026, Salesforce will still manage to reward exceptional performance and motivate workers to keep the overall interests of the business first. This could be a novel strategy for more businesses to take up, but it can be hard to recreate this with employees at lower levels of the organization.
For everyday workers who often earn much smaller numbers than seniors and directors, their take-home pay for day-to-day expenses is non-negotiable, as they cannot wait around for stock rewards to bring in the money they need to pay their bills. Stock rewards often work better as a bonus fringe benefit, as pay freezes and the lack of concrete raises can hit them hard. This is likely why Salesforce is maintaining its merit increases for workers below the senior management level for now.
Unfortunately for the workforce at large, there have been multiple announcements of flat rates and minimal raises this year, where workers aren’t being differentially rewarded for their performance. This strategy of “peanut butter raises” does offer a way to equalize matters at work, but it also instills a sense of complacency as performance no longer guarantees recognition and reward.
Salesforce Has Also Explored an Executive Reshuffle and Layoffs in 2026
The salary freeze for Salesforce executives isn’t the only aspect of change witnessed at the organization. Just last month, the company announced the appointment of six new senior leaders following the exit of five high-profile leaders from the business. This included the likes of Adam Evans, the head of Agentforce, who was replaced by Joe Inzerillo, the Chief Digital Officer at Salesforce.
Other than a massive overhaul of its leadership, Salesforce also cut nearly 1,000 jobs in February, with the decision affecting teams like marketing, data analytics, product management, etc. This was only the latest round of cuts at the organization. These layoffs at Salesforce were tied to the company’s continued investments in artificial intelligence, as the company has doubled down on defining the technology’s role in the future of its operations.
All these changes put together, operations at Salesforce have certainly been disrupted to a degree. How the company operates for the rest of the year will now hinge on its management strategy, as dealing with change requires active planning and an adaptive long-term strategy. We’re more curious to see how many other businesses follow the same path of incentivizing business leaders through alternative routes of compensation this year and how successful these strategies are in the long run.
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