Zoom has been hit by a hurricane of layoffs, following Google, Microsoft, and others. The video conferencing company will lay off 1,300 employees or the equivalent of 15% of its total staff.
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said his company needed to adapt to uncertain global economic conditions, as the world adjusts to life after the pandemic.
Zoom experienced a spike in users during the COVID-19 pandemic where many people were forced to work and study from home. To cope with the surge in demand, Zoom has tripled the number of its employees.
"We worked tirelessly and made Zoom better for our consumers and users. But we also made mistakes," Yuan said in his blog post, as quoted by CNBC, Wednesday (8/2/2023).
"We don't take enough time to analyze our team or assess whether we are on an ongoing basis, towards the highest priority," he continued.
Yuan said the layoffs would hit all departments at Zoom. Affected employees will receive severance pay for 16 weeks, health insurance assistance, and bonuses for the past year.
Yuan as CEO will also cut his salary for the 2023 fiscal year by 98% and he will not receive an annual bonus for this year. Leaders at the executive level will also slash their salaries by up to 20% and will not receive bonuses.
"As CEO and founder of Zoom, I take responsibility for these mistakes and for the actions we're currently taking -- and I want to show responsibility not only in my words but also in my actions," he continued.
The layoffs announced by Zoom follow similar policies undertaken by other technology companies. In January, Google unveiled plans to cut 12,000 jobs and Microsoft will lay off 10,000 employees. Recently Dell announced it would cut 6,650 employees.
