Zoom: Zoom is laying off 1,300 employees, here’s why

Zoom has become the latest company to announce job cuts. Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, announced that the company is laying off 1,300 employees, which translates to about 15% of its staff. Each organisation across Zoom will be impacted by the job cut.
According to a memo from the CEO, the job cuts are global in nature. “If you are a US-based employee who is impacted, you will receive an email to your Zoom and personal inboxes in the next 30 minutes that reads ‘[IMPACTED] Departing Zoom: What You Need to Know.’ Non-US employees will be notified following local requirements,” he said.
Why Zoom is laying off employees
Just like other technology companies, including Microsoft, Intel, Google, Meta, and Amazon, among others, the company CEO cites “uncertainty of the global economy, and its effect on our customers” as the reason for layoffs. The CEO said Zoom grew 3x in size in 24 months to manage the increasing demand for a solution so that people remain connected during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“To make this possible, we needed to staff up rapidly to support the quick rise of users on our platform and their evolving needs. We worked tirelessly and made Zoom better for our customers and users. But we also made mistakes. We didn’t take as much time as we should have to thoroughly analyse our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably, toward the highest priorities,” he said.

Zoom CEO takes responsibility for job cuts
Yuan also announced a number of steps to “weather the economic environment.” He also said that “as the CEO and founder of Zoom,” he is accountable for these mistakes the company made and the actions it takes today.
“I want to show accountability not just in words but in my own actions. To 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% for the coming fiscal year while also forfeiting their FY23 corporate bonuses,” the CEO added
Departing full-time ‘Zoomies’ in the US will be offered:
– Up to 16 weeks’ salary and healthcare coverage
– Payment of earned FY’23 annual bonus based on company performance
– RSU and stock option vesting for 6 months for US employees and through August 9, 2023, for non-US employees
– Outplacement services that include 1:1 coaching, workshops, networking groups, and more
Those who are outside of the US will be given similar support as per the local laws.
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