Zoom To Lay Off 1300 Employees Or 15% Of Its Workforce, Says CEO Eric Yuan Yuan also stated that he and other executives will take a significant pay cut of 98% in the coming fiscal year
By Teena Jose
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Video conferencing platform Zoom, on Tuesday, has reportedly announced that it will lay off about 1300 employees, or approximately 15% of its staff, and became the latest tech company to join the layoff trend happening in the industry for the past few months. According to a blog post penned by Zoom's chief executive officer Eric Yuan, the layoffs will impact every part of the organization.
"We have made the tough but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15% and say goodbye to around 1,300 hardworking, talented colleagues," Eric Yuan wrote.
The CEO said the Zoom grew 3 times in size in 24 months to manage the increasing demand for a solution so that people remain connected during the Covid-19 pandemic. While people and businesses continue to rely on Zoom 'as the world transitions to life post-pandemic,' the Silicon Valley-based firm is seeing customers cut back on spending, he added in the post.
"Our trajectory was forever changed during the pandemic when the world faced one of its toughest challenges, and I am proud of the way we mobilized as a company to keep people connected. We worked tirelessly, but we also made mistakes. We didn't take as much time as we should have to thoroughly analyze our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably, toward the highest priorities. But the uncertainty of the global economy, and its effect on our customers, means we need to take a hard look inward to reset ourselves so we can weather the economic environment, deliver for our customers and achieve Zoom's long-term vision," the CEO noted.
Yuan also stated that he and other executives will take a significant pay cut. In the message to employees, he admitted to making mistakes in how quickly the company grew during the pandemic.
"As the CEO and founder of Zoom, I am accountable for these mistakes and the actions we take today- and I want to show accountability not just in words but in my own actions. On that end, I am reducing my salary for the coming fiscal year by 98% and foregoing my FY23 corporate bonus. Members of my executive leadership team will reduce their base salaries by 20 per cent for the coming fiscal year while also forfeiting their FY23 corporate bonuses," Eric Yuan wrote.
Furthermore, the CEO informed that a US-based employee who is impacted will receive an email to his/her Zoom and personal inboxes in the next 30 minutes. He further stated that non-US employees will be informed after following local requirements. Also, outplacement services, including 1:1 coaching, workshops, networking groups, and more will be given to departing employees. Moreover, according to his words, the support for Zoom employees outside the US will be similar.
