Zoom announces a wave of layoffs of 1,300 people, which is 15% of its salary. A difficult situation that should not change anytime soon for the tech giants.
You can now add Zoom to the long list of big tech companies that have initiated big waves of layoffs in recent months. The company announces layoffs of approximately 1,300 employees, representing 15% of its payroll.
Zoom announces a wave of layoffs of 1300 people, 15% of wages
In a memo to employees, CEO Eric Yuan says the company has ramped up its workforce too quickly after a pandemic-driven demand surge that tripled in two years. “We haven’t taken as much time as we should have to carefully review our teams or find out if we’re progressing properly while respecting our priorities,” he wrote.
The CEO also clarified that while many people have returned to their offices, people and businesses still have high expectations from Zoom. That being said, Eric Yuan adds that in the face of this challenging economic climate, “we must make the difficult – and yet very important – decision to relaunch in order to better fit the economic environment, meet our customers’ expectations, and achieve Zoom’s long-term vision.”
Eric Yuan takes full responsibility for these layoffs. He also announced that he would cut his salary by 98% in the next fiscal year and that management’s base salary would also be cut by 20%. All of this will affect bonuses for fiscal year 2023 (i.e. calendar year 2022).
A difficult situation that should not change anytime soon for tech giants
Zoom employees residing in the United States affected by these layoffs will receive up to 16 weeks of wages and health insurance, their FY 2023 bonuses, a refund of their stock options for 6 months, and support in finding a new job. The company clarifies that laid-off employees working outside the United States will have similar benefits depending on local law.
Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Dell and Spotify are among the many tech giants that have embarked on massive layoff plans or are preparing for larger layoffs than originally planned. The list has only been growing for a few months and the trend should not be reversed immediately.