Times are supposedly tough over at Salesforce (CRM) as the company executes a plan to layoff 8,000 employees, but a new report details an expense its signed off on that seems like a luxury.
The business software company is paying Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey more $10 million a year to be a creative adviser and TV pitchman, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
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McConaughey, who is being paid through a combination of cash and equity, was brought to the company by friend and CEO Marc Benioff, according to the report. But the actor's compensation required approval by the Salesforce competition committee.
Salesforce is being forced to make employment cuts after hiring more than 30,000 employees from the start of 2020 through the end of 2022, a roughly 60% increase.
“You can continue to keep a company going with excess employees, but it’s not healthy for the company," Benioff said, according to The Journal.
Those excess employees apparently do not include McConaughey, who starred in a $5 million Super Bowl ad as an astronaut riding a hot air balloon.
But those marketing expenses are only pocket change compared to the company's 70,000 person-strong payroll, Benioff told The Journal.
Activist investment firms Elliott Management and Starboard Value have taken stakes in the company in recent months.
"The stockholder activism may prove a catalyst for positive changes, including a refresh of the board of directors," JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens said.
