Salesforce made one of the biggest moves in the tech industry in light of a highly restrictive Texas abortion law on Friday. In a message to employees on Slack, the company said it would help them and their immediate families relocate if they are worried about access to reproductive healthcare in their state.
Although the message, which was obtained by CNBC, appeared not to single out Texas, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff later went on Twitter to explicitly say the company would help any employees move from the state. Nonetheless, CNBC reported that Salesforce did not take a stance on the law in its Slack message, emphasising that it respected different views but also stood in solidarity with women.
“These are incredibly personal issues that directly impact many of us — especially women,” Salesforce said. “The company did not take a stance on the law. “We recognise and respect that we all have deeply held and different perspectives. As a company, we stand with all of our women at Salesforce and everywhere.”
Salesforce has offices in Dallas, according to its corporate website. A CNBC analysis of LinkedIn profiles found that about 2,000 people work for the company in Dallas.
Tech companies have come under scrutiny in recent weeks for their silence on the Texas abortion law. The law bans abortions after six weeks, a time when most women don’t even realise they’re pregnant, and allows individuals to sue anyone who helps women get an abortion after the authorised period.
A small number of tech companies have spoken out or taken action, while others have had their views revealed by Texas politicians.
Uber and Lyft announced they would cover all legal fees for drivers sued for taking women to get abortions. Bumble said it was setting up a relief fund to finance organisations supporting women’s reproductive rights in the state. Meanwhile, Shar Dubey, the CEO of Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, said she was personally creating a fund that would help Match employees in Texas obtain abortions elsewhere.
GoDaddy, for its part, booted a site from its servers that aims to help Texas anonymously snitch on people who have abortions after six weeks or anyone who assists them.
Then you have Elon Musk, who heads Tesla and SpaceX. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in an interview that Musk liked the social policies in the state, which the CEO did not confirm or deny.
“In general, I believe government should rarely impose its will upon the people, and, when doing so, should aspire to maximise their cumulative happiness,” Musk tweeted. “That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics.”