(Bloomberg) -- ServiceNow Inc. declined in extended trading even as subscription sales slightly exceeded analysts’ average estimate. The software maker also pledged it wouldn’t cut jobs in 2023 despite workforce reductions at many technology companies.

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ServiceNow will have “absolutely no layoffs in 2023,” Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott said in an interview. Last July, McDermott was one of the first software executives to say that customers were reluctant to commit to purchases. Since then, however, the company has continued to hire and now has better sales coverage across industries, he said.

Fourth-quarter subscription revenue increased 22% to $1.86 billion, compared with an average estimate of $1.84 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Total revenue jumped 20% to $1.94 billion in the period ended Dec. 31, ServiceNow said Wednesday in a statement. Profit, excluding some items, was $2.28 a share, topping analysts’ average estimate of $2.02.

The company delivered a better-than-expected subscription sales forecast for 2023, signaling that demand for its business workflow software remains strong in an uncertain economic environment.

Annual subscription revenue will increase about 23% to $8.44 billion to $8.5 billion. Analysts, on average, had estimated 21% growth. ServiceNow predicted subscription revenue, which makes up the overwhelming majority of company sales, will climb 22% in the current period ending in March, slightly above the analysts’ average projection.

ServiceNow sells applications that help companies organize and automate their personnel, customer service and information technology operations. Today, the customer anxiety ServiceNow warned of last year is gone, McDermott said. “We’re real bullish,” McDermott said, adding that clients are scaling back their commitments with other vendors to consolidate needs on ServiceNow.