Sadly, the popular video conferencing platform Zoom is laying off 1,300 workers. This number represents over 15% of the company’s workforce, and it cuts across various roles/departments in the company. Zoom took to its official website to announce this sad news, saying that it will help boost its “long-term growth.”
The massive layoff would affect both US-based employees and Non-US employees. Workers in either category impacted by this massive layoff got the hard-hitting email about a day ago. This email came after Zoom posted about this layoff on their official blog, breaking to the public this sad news.
About 30 minutes after the company’s post regarding the layoffs, workers affected started getting their layoff emails. One might wonder why Zoom would join other tech giants to lay off their staff. Well, this article will highlight the reason Zoom’s CEO stated.
The reason behind Zoom laying off 1,300 workers
According to Eric Yuan, the CEO of Zoom, this layoff is a result of the worsening global economy. As the video conferencing company goes into the year unsure of what it holds, they made the hard decision to let go of some staff members. This move will help Eric Yuan sustain his company through the time of uncertainty that lies ahead.
Zoom became a big sensation around the world during the pandemic. Since companies and firms around the world couldn’t meet in person with their staff and clients, they resorted to video conferencing. The services Zoom offered at the time made them the top choice for millions of establishments around the world.
Due to the high demand for Zoom’s services, the workload skyrocketed. To meet demands, Zoom hired a ton of staff to work remotely during the pandemic and on-site after the pandemic. But with things returning to the way they were post-pandemic, many establishments have resumed in-person work activities. This also reduces how often establishments use Zoom video conferencing as things return to how they were before the pandemic.
Coupling this with the economic uncertainties globally, Zoom opts to lay off 15% of its staff. To help those affected cope with the layoffs, Zoom is offering a 1:1 check-in along with some compensations that can be found on this page. The compensations outlined on that page are for both US and non-US staff affected by the layoff. Compensation for non-US workers will also follow the local requirements of the countries where they reside.