New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): Salesforce Co-founder and Co-CEO Marc Benioff has said that those who were hired by the enterprise software company during the Covid pandemic are "facing lower productivity".

In an internal Slack message to employees, seen by CNBC, Benioff said the company's newest hires aren't being productive enough.

"How do we increase the productivity of our employees at salesforce? New employees (hired during the pandemic in 2021 & 2022) are especially facing much lower productivity. Is this a reflection of our office policy?" he asked employees.

"Are we not building tribal knowledge with new employees without an office culture? Are our managers not directly addressing productivity with their teams?"

Benioff wrote that he was "asking for a friend", a phrase people use to reveal their curiosity about a topic.

"The message included an emoji showing a smiling face with a halo hovering over it, suggesting innocence," according to the report.

A Salesforce spokesperson said the company has "a hybrid work environment that empowers leaders and teams to work together with purpose".

Salesforce is reportedly preparing for another round of layoffs amid leadership changes, increased pressure to meet sales targets, and the influence of activist investors.

An employee said that "people are afraid it (layoffs) could come at any point", Business Insider reported last week.

Back in November, the company laid off hundreds of employees. The company, however, told media publications that the job cuts affected "less than a thousand" employees.

The company had 73,541 people on its payroll earlier this year.