Zoom cuts 15% of staff in post-pandemic “reset”.

Zoom’s growth has slowed sharply since the pandemic

Zoom, the video conferencing company that became a household name as remote working increased during the Covid pandemic, is laying off 1,300 employees.

The move affects about 15% of the workforce, which has resulted in slow user growth and a decline in profits lately.

Chief Eric Yuan said he and other executives would also take big pay cuts as the company focuses on making sure it can weather the slowdown.

It joins a large number of other tech companies making similar adjustments.

“As the world transitions to post-pandemic life, we see people and businesses continue to rely on Zoom,” Mr. Yuan wrote in a message to employees at the company.

“But the uncertainty of the global economy and its impact on our customers means we need to take a hard – but important – look inwards to realign ourselves to weather the economic environment, deliver for our customers and achieve Zoom’s long-term vision.” .”

Amazon and Salesforce are among the other heavyweights that have announced big job cuts and said the business boom they experienced during the pandemic is over.

According to Layoffs.fyi, which tracks such announcements, more than 300 tech companies worldwide have laid off nearly 100,000 workers since the beginning of the year.

Zoom, in particular, has faced challenges as competing tech companies upgrade their video offerings.

The company’s revenue more than tripled in 2020 and grew about 55% in 2021. But over the past year, gains have slowed to single digits and profits have fallen sharply.

The company’s shares are down more than 80% since their 2020 peak.

Mr. Yuan said the cuts would affect every part of the organization and aim to reduce duplicate roles and refocus on the company’s top priorities. Affected employees will receive, among other things, 16 weeks of salary and health insurance.

Mr. Yuan said he would also cut his salary by 98% in the coming fiscal year and waive his bonus. Other members of the leadership team will see their base salaries drop 20% and lose bonuses, he added.

“We worked tirelessly … but we also made mistakes. We haven’t taken as much time to thoroughly analyze our teams or assess whether we are growing sustainably toward the top priorities,” said Mr. Yuan.

“As Zoom’s CEO and Founder, I am responsible for these mistakes and the actions we are taking today – and I want to show responsibility not just in words but in my own actions.”

The company’s shares rose more than 8% after the announcement.

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