Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has drawn a line in the sand, saying this year’s Dreamforce may be the last one in San Francisco, if homelessness or drug use impacts it.
Dreamforce is the company’s annual conference that is one the highlights of the tech industry. It has traditionally been held in San Francisco, but that city’s issues with homelessness and drug use are causing Benioff to rethink that position.
“If this Dreamforce is impacted by the current situation with homelessness and drug use it may be the last Dreamforce” in the city, Benioff told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“We’re working hand in hand with the city as we always do,” he added. “We’ll bring a significant number of people to the city — 40,000 people — and it will generate $57 million in the downtown economy. So it’s in all of our interests for it to go well, and for APEC to go well. This should be the focus of the city.”
San Francisco’s real estate market has already been hit by the transition to remote work, as well as companies moving out of the state to more tax-friendly jurisdictions. Losing Dreamforce would be another major blow to the local economy.