Zoom lays off 1,300 workers as CEO vows to cut his salary by 98 percent

Yuan took responsibility for the cuts and vowed to implement changes to management's pay, including reducing his salary by a whopping 98 percent in Fiscal Year 2023.

"We have made the tough but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15 percent and say goodbye to around 1,300 hardworking, talented colleagues," Yuan wrote in an email to his "Zoomies."

"I know this is a difficult message to hear, and certainly not one I ever wanted to deliver," he continued, explaining that US-based employees would be contacted first, with those in other countries being dealt with according to local laws.

"For those Zoomies waking up to this news or reading this after normal work hours," he added, "I am sorry you are finding out this way but we felt it was best to notify all impacted Zoomies as soon as possible."

Yuan explained that while Zoom sustained massive growth during the pandemic, he and other executives "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."

"As the CEO and founder of Zoom," he said, "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."

Yuan went on to state that he would be reducing his salary by 98 percent and foregoing his FY23 corporate bonus. He added that members of the executive leadership team would also have their base salaries reduced by 20 percent asked that they join him in forfeiting their FY23 bonuses.

Departing employees will receive a severance package, including salary and healthcare coverage for up to four months.

Zoom's 1,300 employee exodus is relatively small compared to those at other tech companies. Amazon, for example, recently let go of 18,000 workers, while Google downsized by nearly 12,000.