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    Zoom to lay off about 1,300 employees or 15% of total workforce

    Synopsis

    To those affected by the layoffs, Zoom will offer — 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

    A man walks past a temporary show room of Zoom during the World Economic Forum in DavosReuters
    Zoom Video Communications on Tuesday announced that it will lay off about 1,300 employees or about 15% of its workforce. Chief Executive Officer Eric Yuan said that the job cuts will affect all departments across Zoom.

    In a blog post, Yuan said that he will forego 98% of his salary for the coming fiscal year and full 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," he wrote.

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    Citing uncertain global economy, Yuan said that the company looks to reset itself so it can weather the economic environment, deliver for its customers and achieve its long-term vision.

    "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 analyze our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably, toward the highest priorities," Yuan said.

    Layoffs in 2023: these companies have announced job cuts amid economic downturn

    To those affected by the organisational changes, Zoom will offer — 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.

    "We did not take a single departure lightly – our leadership carefully examined and made decisions based on critical priorities for long-term growth, and also looked for functions that have become overly complex or duplicative," Yuan told Zoom employees.

    Earlier on February 7, Dell Technologies said it will eliminate about 6,650 jobs, or about 5% of its global workforce, hurt by falling demand for its personal computers.

    A host of US companies from Goldman Sachs Group Inc to Alphabet Inc have laid off thousands this year to ride out a demand downturn wrought by high inflation and rising interest rates.

    Across sectors, thousands of jobs have been eliminated to correct the over-hiring of the Covid period, and brace for, what experts call, a period of slower growth for the sector.
    ( Originally published on Feb 07, 2023 )
    The Economic Times

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