Zoom will lay off about 1,300 workers, nearly 15% of its workforce

Zoom CEO says he will cut his OWN $1.1M salary by 98% in the coming year as he lays off 1,300 workers – nearly 15% of its entire workforce

  • Zoom CEO Eric Yuan announced that about 1,300 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, have been laid off on Tuesday via email
  • The CEO said he would also cut his salary this year by 98 percent and that other executives will see their salaries trimmed by 20 percent
  • It is the latest tech company to announce massive layoffs, with Meta hinting at its own round of new layoffs amid further drops in revenue 

The CEO of Zoom has said he will lay off approximately 1,300 employees, 15 percent of the company’s workforce, as well as slashing his own $1.1M salary by 98 percent. 

Eric Yuan posted the notice to employees on Zoom Blog, letting them know that those impacted by the layoffs received an email on Tuesday. 

He said that his own salary would be cut down to $22,000 this year, and that other executives will also see their salaries trimmed by 20 percent, with all of them foregoing their 2023 annual bonuses.

Yuan said the layoffs impacted every department in the company, and that fired employees are going to receive up to 16 weeks salary and healthcare coverage. 

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan announced that about 1,300 employees will be laid off on Tuesday

It stands as a 15 percent cut in its workforce as Yuan will cut his own $1.1 million salary to $22,000. Pictured: An employee working at Zoom’s headquarters in San Jose last week 

Zoom is the latest tech giant to announce large layoffs after the industry saw brutal end to 2022.

In his message to employees posted 30 minutes before the emails were sent out, Yuan wrote: ‘We have made the tough but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15 percent and say goodbye to around 1,300 hardworking, talented colleagues.’

‘I know this is a difficult message to hear, and certainly not one I ever wanted to deliver.’

In explaining the latest cuts, Yuan said the company saw a huge boom during the pandemic as many looked to Zoom as a means to stay connected and conduct business. 

‘We needed to staff up rapidly to support the quick rise of users on our platform and their evolving needs,’ Yuan wrote. ‘Within 24 months, Zoom grew 3x in size to manage this demand while enabling continued innovation.’ 

Zoom, however, made mistakes when it failed to account how its growth was unsustainable, Yuan wrote. 

In the post-pandemic world, users no longer relied on Zoom as much, meaning the company had to roll back its growth. 

‘As the CEO and founder of Zoom, I am accountable for these mistakes,’ Yuan told employees as he announced his salary cut.  

This is a developing story. 

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