Zoom sacks its president Greg Tomb ‘without cause’ after laying off 1300 staff last month

Days after video conferencing platform Zoom laid off 1,300 employees, the platform has now sacked its president, Greg Tomb, who is a former Google executive. Notably, Tomb's contract was abruptly terminated "without cause" and he will now get severance benefits in accordance with the company's arrangement payable upon a "termination without cause".

Tomb assumed the company's president position in June 2022, and since then he has actively participated in earning calls and handled the company's sales.

Zoom fires its president by handing over 'termination without cause' letter

A spokeswoman for Zoom, however, said the company isn't looking for a replacement, reported BBC. Tomb directly used to report to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, who started the company back in 2011. The company became a popular people-connecting website during the COVID period.

At the time of Tomb's appointment last year, Yuan said his presence will immensely add to the team, and he is "a highly respected technology industry leader and has deep experience in helping to scale companies at critical junctures." During his joining, Tomb had also expressed his excitement and assured how he would help "drive growth" for the company.

Like other tech companies, Zoom also faced a difficult phase, where the company was forced to lay off its employees after failing to maintain the same performance during the pandemic. "We didn't take as much time as we should have had to thoroughly analyse our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably towards our highest priorities," Yuan said. It is pertinent to note that Zoom is also trying to diversify, and last year it announced plans to add features like calendar and email, as well as a chatbot to help users flag and resolve issues.

What is "termination without cause"?

‘Termination without cause’ or ‘termination simpliciter’ is a clause that a company can use to terminate a worker's or employee’s services for reasons that are not attributable to the worker or employee. Notably, no employee can challenge the "termination without cause" unless the termination is contrary to the terms of the employment agreement, processes established by statute, and, where applicable, standing orders or agreements with the workforce.

Image: AP