Communication tech firm Zoom joins layoff spree, axes approx 1,300 jobs

In order to “weather the economic situation,” Zoom Video Communications said that it will be laying off 15% of its employees, or close to 1,300 individuals. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan apologised for the errors that resulted in the layoffs in an email to the whole business.

Communication tech firm Zoom
Communication tech firm Zoom

The CEO of Zoom Video Communication, Eric Yuan, stated on Tuesday that 1,300 people, or 15% of the staff, would be let go. Yuan called the affected people “hardworking, talented colleagues” and stated that if they were based in the US, they would receive an email, and all non-US personnel would be informed in accordance with local laws.

“You will receive an email in the next 30 minutes with the subject [IMPACTED],” Yuan stated in his statement. If you work for Zoom in the US, here is what you need to know before leaving. Employees who are not US citizens will be informed in accordance with local laws.

He emphasised the exit strategy for exiting employees in the US. Employees who were laid off would receive up to 16 weeks of pay, healthcare benefits, payment of an earned annual bonus for the fiscal year 2023 based on company performance, RSUs (restricted stock units), and stock options with a vesting period of six months for US employees and eight weeks for non-US employees through August 9, 2023.

While he would take a wage cut of 98%, Yuan said that the layoffs would touch every department within Zoom. He told the workforce that members of the executive leadership team would no longer get their corporate incentives for 2023 and that their base salaries would be lowered by 20%.

Yuan’s base salary was $301,731 last year, but he received $1.1 million in total pay, according to Bloomberg. After the 98 percent wage cut, the Zoom CEO’s new salary for 2023 would be $6,034.62.

Zoom joined a long list of IT companies that have reduced their employment as a result of the drop in business caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, which drove people to work from home, with the notification of layoffs. Due to the increased need for communications software and services on a global scale, several organisations have increased their employee counts. As Covid numbers are declining globally and work-from-home solutions are being phased out by large firms, many businesses are currently cutting their personnel.

As the world adjusts to life after the epidemic, people and businesses continue to rely on Zoom. We must take a hard, but essential, look inward to reset ourselves to weather the economic situation, deliver for our customers, and realise Zoom’s long-term ambition, he added, given the unpredictability of the global economy and its impact on our users.

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