You can add Zoom to the long list of major tech companies that have laid off employees in recent times. It’s letting go around 1,300 employees, which equates to 15 percent of the workforce.
In a note to staff, CEO Eric Yuan indicated that the company expanded its headcount too quickly after Zoom’s pandemic-driven boom — it tripled in size in the space of two years. “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,” Yuan wrote.
He noted that even though many folks have returned to the office, people and companies are still relying on Zoom. That said, Yuan said that amid a rocky economic climate, “we need to take a hard — yet important — look inward to reset ourselves so we can weather the economic environment, deliver for our customers and achieve Zoom’s long-term vision.”
Yuan said he was taking accountability for the layoffs. He’s reducing his salary for the upcoming fiscal year by 98 percent and the executive team will forego 20 percent of their base salaries. All will forfeit their corporate bonuses for fiscal year 2023 (i.e., the 2022 calendar year).
Zoom employees in the US who are being let go will receive up to 16 weeks’ salary and healthcare coverage, their earned fiscal year 2023 bonus, stock option vesting for six months and help to find a new job. The company said laid-off workers outside the US will get similar support based on local laws.
Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Dell and Spotify are among the other major tech companies that have this year announced sweeping layoffs or plans to let go more staff than they originally planned. We’re keeping a running tally of the big tech layoffs of 2023, which is becoming an increasingly sobering list.