Zoom Video Communications on Tuesday said it is cutting 15% of its workforce, or about 1,300 jobs, to “weather the economic environment.” In a company-wide email, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said he was accountable for the mistakes that led to the layoffs and would reduce his salary by 98% for the coming fiscal year, as well as forego his corporate bonus.
Yuan said the video conferencing platform saw unprecedented growth during the pandemic and hired rapidly to support the growing demand.
“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,” he told employees in his February 7 email.
Yuan said each organisation across Zoom would be impacted by the layoffs, while he himself would take a massive pay cut of 98 percent. Members of the executive leadership team would reduce their base salaries by 20 percent and also forfeit their corporate bonus for 2023, he told employees.
According to a Bloomberg report, Yuan’s base salary last year was $301,731, but his total compensation was $1.1 million. With the 98 percent pay cut, the Zoom CEO’s new salary for 2023 would be $ 6,034.62.
“As the CEO and founder of Zoom, I am accountable for these mistakes and the actions we take today– and 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. 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,” Eric Yuan told employees in his email.
He outlined the exit plan for departing employees. Laid off Zoom employees in the US will receive 16 weeks’ salary and healthcare coverage as well as outplacement services that include 1:1 coaching, workshops, networking groups, and more.
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