Major firm axes 1,300 jobs after struggling following end of the pandemic

A MAJOR firm has axed 1,300 jobs after struggling following the end of the pandemic.

Zoom, the video and communications provider, has slashed its workforce by 15%.

The firm justified the move due to slowing user growth and falling profits.

Zoom's business exploded during the pandemic when millions had to switch to working from home.

The firm's sales in the last three months of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, soared by 370%.

And sales grew by a further 40% in 2021.

But as the pandemic eased and people returned to offices, demand for online conferencing software has shrunk.

Reflecting this reduction in demand, Zoom chief executive Eric Yuan will also reduce his own salary in the coming financial year by 98%.

Mr Yuan said in a memo to employees: "As the world transitions to life post-pandemic, we are seeing that people and businesses continue to rely on Zoom.

"But the uncertainty of the global economy, and its effect on our customers, means we need to take a hard - yet important - look inward to reset ourselves so we can weather the economic environment, deliver for our customers and achieve Zoom's long-term vision."

But Zoom isn't the only tech giant struggling in the competitive arena.

Microsoft announced that it would axe 10,000 jobs because of the global economic crisis last month.

Microsoft, which employs 220,000 people worldwide, 6,000 of which are in the UK, will cut 5% of its workforce in total by September.

The job cuts would affect staff worldwide, according to a statement released by Microsoft.

But it remains unclear if UK-based positions will be affected.

Amazon announced earlier in January that it planned to shut three UK warehouses, putting 1,200 jobs at risk.

The group, which employs around 1.5million people globally, warned in November that its workers could be laid off.

The online retail giant also announced plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs worldwide at the beginning of January.

It comes after Royal Mail announced it is to cut as many as 6,000 jobs by the end of August this year.

And supermarket giant Tesco cut more than 300 jobs as part of a shake-up.

Your rights in redundancy

Companies can choose to cut their workforce, but employees should understand their rights.

You are entitled to statutory redundancy pay, but only if you have worked at your job for two years or more.

The statutory rate is based on your age, weekly pay and number of years in the job.

You will get:

• Half a week’s pay for each full year you worked aged under 22
• One week’s pay for each full year you worked aged 22 or older, but under 41
• One and half week’s pay for each full year you worked while aged 41 or older.

But it's capped at 20 years and the max redundancy pay you can get is currently £16,320.

Some companies may offer to pay more than the statutory amount. This will usually be in your contract.

Plus, you are still entitled to any pay you are owed for untaken holiday days at the end of your notice period.

The government has a  how much you are owed.