Broadcom cutting VMware jobs following $69B acquisition

Broadcom is reducing the size of VMware’s workforce roughly a week after completing its US$69 billion acquisition of the cloud computing company.

According to news outlets, including ARN, many employees have received redundancy notices following the closure of the deal on Nov. 22.

Uma Thana Balasingam, a vice-president at VMware, confirmed on LinkedIn that she had been let go.

“My initial encounter a few years ago with redundancy was unplanned, creating a disruptive transition and a confidence hit,” Balasingam said in the Nov. 27 post.

“In contrast, my current experience at VMware allowed for more preparation, although it still carries a sense of finality — a good sad as I call it — that’s hard to ignore.”

It remains unclear how many employees are being laid off, and if any Canadian workers are affected.

Following the acquisition, the company has been split into four units:

• VMware Cloud Foundation
• VMware Tanzu
• VMware Software-Defined Edge
• Application Networking and Security

VMware employs a total workforce of more than 34,000 people, according to the company’s LinkedIn page. Over 500 workers are located in Canada.

Major tech layoffs continue

The reported job cuts at VMware come amid a flurry of tech sector layoffs in 2023.

Big names, including ByteDance, Amazon, Informatica, Ubisoft, Bungie, Splunk, Nokia, LinkedIn, Google, and Dell, have significantly scaled back their staffing levels as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

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Termination agreements for VMware employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at VMware are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages during mass layoffs
• Severance entitlements in a recession

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

In some cases, employers pressure staff into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.