Zoom Video Communications is laying off approximately 1,300 employees, accounting for 15% of the software company’s workforce. According to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, who made the announcement in a blog post.
Yuan stated that he is responsible for the mistakes that resulted in the job cuts and that he will take a 98% pay cut. He stated: “As Zoom’s CEO and founder, I am accountable for these mistakes and the actions we take today—and I want to demonstrate accountability not just through words but also through my own actions. To that end, I’m cutting my salary by 98% for the upcoming fiscal year and skipping my FY23 corporate bonus.”
Yuan’s executive leadership team will also be reduced.
Why are there job cuts?
Yuan explained that the Covid-19 pandemic required the company to triple its workforce to support the rapid increase in platform users, and that the company did not take enough time to analyze the growth sustainably as the pandemic slowed.
“As the world adjusts to life after the pandemic, we see that people and businesses continue to rely on Zoom. But, given the global economy’s uncertainty and its impact on our customers, we must take a hard – but necessary – look inward to reset ourselves in order to weather the economic environment, deliver for our customers, and achieve Zoom’s long-term vision “He stated.
Zoom’s prospects
Yuan wrote about Zoom’s future prospects: “While these steps must be taken today, we will continue to invest in key strategic areas to help us achieve our vision. My promise to you is that we will make certain that the changes we are making to our team today are not in vain. We will learn from our mistakes in order to be more successful in the future, and we will redouble our efforts to help Zoom evolve into the future.”
According to Yuan, departing full-time Zoom employees in the United States will be provided with the following assistance:
Salary of up to 16 weeks and healthcare coverage
Your earned FY’23 annual bonus based on company performance RSU and stock option vesting for six months for US employees and through August 9, 2023 for non-US employees
Outplacement services such as 1:1 coaching, workshops, networking groups, and more are available.
Outside of the United States, support for Zoomies will be similar, taking into account local laws.
