Zoom announced on Tuesday that it would lay off around 1,300 employees, or 15% of its workforce, becoming the latest tech business to announce big employment layoffs as a pandemic-fueled surge in demand for digital services fades.
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan stated in a memo to staff that the layoffs would affect every section of the firm. Yuan also announced that he and other executives would take significant compensation cuts after admitting that he made “mistakes” in how swiftly the company grew during the outbreak.
“As Zoom’s CEO and founder, I am accountable for these mistakes and the actions we take today- and I want to demonstrate accountability not only in words but in my actions,” he said. “As a result, I am cutting my compensation by 98% for the upcoming fiscal year and sacrificing my FY23 corporate bonus.”
Yuan stated that executive leadership team members would have their base salary reduced by 20% for the upcoming fiscal year and would forfeit their bonuses for the fiscal year 2023.
Zoom stock climbed nearly 9% at lunchtime trade Tuesday after the announcement.
Zoom came to define the early days of the pandemic more than most companies since many people used its platform to video communicate with friends and colleagues amid lockdowns. Zoom reported rising revenue by mid-2020, propelled by an increase in business clients from the numerous organizations compelled to switch to remote work.
