Experiment
What Companies Value
Where leadership puts people on the balance sheet — strategy or cost? A curated index of 27 companies, scored on what they do, not what they say. This isn't judgment — it's an attempt to objectively look at the data and better understand how we balance humans and AI.
Salesforce
-4 — People as costWhat leadership says
“We're not going to be hiring more engineers.”
Marc Benioff, on AI productivity gains
“Our AI agents are already doing amazing work.”
Marc Benioff, Agentforce launch
What leadership does
- ~8,700 laid off across 2023-2024
- Highly profitable during all rounds of cuts
- Agentforce positioned as workforce replacement, not tool
- 'Ohana' culture narrative increasingly contradicted by actions
Signals
Outcomes
~$500K
Rev / Employee
10-12%
Revenue Growth
3.8
Glassdoor
8,700
People Cut
Highly
Profitable?
+25% since cuts
Stock After Cuts
Methodology
This is a curated editorial assessment, not an algorithm. Each company is scored across 10 signals — 5 measuring human-centered leadership, 5 measuring AI-maximalist behavior. Leadership rhetoric about AI replacing people carries double weight because it's the most intentional signal. Placement reflects both a weighted formula and editorial judgment. Where the two diverge, the tension is noted.
Data is sourced from public earnings calls, leadership statements, layoff announcements, and Glassdoor ratings. All quotes should be independently verified. This index will be updated as new evidence emerges.
Built by Ian Alexander as part of an ongoing experiment at uxtopian.com.
Last updated: March 2026.