Zoom CEO Eric Yuan told employees in an email on Tuesday that he would cut his own salary by 98% and not take a bonus amid a layoff announcement at the company that will affect around 1,300 workers worldwide.
“As the CEO and founder of Zoom, I am accountable for these mistakes and the actions we take today,” Yuan told employees.
“I want to show accountability not just in words but in my own actions” he added.
Zoom, a video communications company, saw supercharged growth fueled by the pandemic and a change to work-from-home culture. Yuan founded the California-based company in 2011. At its peak, the company’s stock clocked in at $559 a share in October 2020.
But, like many companies that soared during the crisis, it had a rough landing — its stock is currently trading at around $80 a share (it went up about 10% post-layoff announcement).
Yuan cited the pandemic rollercoaster as a reason for the cuts in his message to staff. “Within 24 months, Zoom grew 3x in size to manage this demand while enabling continued innovation,” he said.
“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 added.
Zoom is the latest tech company to announce large-scale layoffs. Amazon, Google, and Meta have all laid off thousands of employees in the last four months.
Yuan’s base salary last year was $301,731, per Bloomberg. The cut will bring his salary down to $10,000.
Other executives at the company will also take pay cuts of 20% and forgo bonuses for the upcoming year, the filing added.
Laid-off “Zoomies,” at least in the U.S., will receive “up to” 16 weeks of salary and healthcare.
Other CEOs of tech companies have taken pay cuts, though on much larger base salaries. Tim Cook cut his salary by 40%, which brought to $43 million, per CNBC.
David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, cut his by 29%, which brought it down to $25 million.
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