Zoom Layoffs 2023 Announced, Non-US Employees to be Fired Too

Zoom layoffs 2023 have been announced, and roughly 15 percent of the company’s workforce will be fired. This means that 1300 employees will be terminated from the company, and Eric Yuan, CEO, Zoom confirmed that non-US employees could be fired as well. Yuan said that US-based employees would receive an email that reads “ Departing Zoom: What You Need to Know” to their Zoom and personal inboxes. Whereas, non-US employees would be notified based on the local requirements.

Why Have Zoom Layoffs 2023 Been Announced?

The reason being given by Zoom, is the same as that given by Microsoft and Google that they had to scale up during the pandemic, therefore expanded the workforce quickly. “Our trajectory was forever changed during the pandemic when the world faced one of its toughest challenges,  and I am proud of the way we mobilized as a company to keep people connected. To make this possible, we needed to staff up rapidly to support the quick rise of users on our platform and their evolving needs. Within 24 months, Zoom grew 3x in size to manage this demand while enabling continued innovation,” said Yuan while adding that they made “mistakes” and did not have the time analyse the teams or figure out if they were going sustainably.

Yuan also added that the layoffs were part of the cost cutting measures to navigate through the uncertain global economic conditions. “the uncertainty of the global economy, and its effect on our customers, means we need to take a hard – yet important – look inward to reset ourselves so we can weather the economic environment, deliver for our customers and achieve Zoom’s long-term vision,” added Yuan.

What Those Impacted by Zoom Layoffs 2023 Will Receive?

While the impacted non-US employees will be awarded benefits based on the local guidelines, fired US employees will receive the following benefits:

• Up to 16 weeks’ salary and healthcare coverage.
• Payment of FY’23 annual bonus earned by employees based on the company’s performance.
• RSU and stock option vesting for 6 months for US employees and through 9 August 2023 for non-US employees.
• Outplacement services that include 1:1 coaching, workshops, and networking groups among others.

The leaders of the impacted employees will reach out to them personally and help them with any assistance they may need, added Yuan in his blog.

Eric Yuan Takes Pay Cut for Being Responsible for Zoom Layoffs 2023

Eric Yuan will be reducing his salary by 98 percent as he holds himself responsible for the mistakes made and the layoffs announced. He said: "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." In addition to Yuan, members of the company's executive leadership team will reduce their base salaries by 20% for the coming fiscal year while also forfeiting their FY23 corporate bonuses.