Tech firm F5 cuts 620 jobs, office spending and executive bonus

F5, the global technology and software company based in Seattle, is downsizing its workforce by 9%. The employer joins a growing number of tech firms that are laying off tens of thousands of workers in response to slowing demand and sales.

What’s happening: In a press release, F5’s President and CEO François Locoh-Donou outlined a number of cost-cutting measures, saying that “given the current demand environment… we are taking action to reduce our operating costs.”

• Global headcount is being reduced by 620 employees by April 21, 2023
• Layoffs will result in $45 million in severance payments
• Office and travel spending will be slashed
• Corporate and executive bonus will be cut

Further explanation: Locoh-Donou sent an email to staff Wednesday, explaining that “it’s clear that rising interest rates, geopolitical events and macroeconomic uncertainty have dramatically affected our customers’ spending patterns… we must take measures to decrease our costs.”

• Given the persistent macro uncertainty and its impact on customer spending, we now expect low-to-mid single-digit revenue growth in fiscal year 2023.

Impact on Canadian staff

The layoffs at F5 will impact employees across the globe, though the exact number of Canadian employees affected remains unclear.

Major tech layoffs continue

F5 joins the growing list of major North American tech companies that have announced sweeping layoffs in 2023.

Several big names, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Dell, Clearco, Hootsuite, Kyndryl and Microsoft, have significantly scaled back their staffing levels as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

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• Severance packages for IBM employees
• Employment lawyer on recent tech layoffs and severance
• Layoffs in Canada

Termination packages for F5 staff

In Canada, non-unionized employees at F5 are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

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

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

LEARN MORE
• Severance for technology industry employees
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs

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.

Employers sometimes use pressure tactics to try to coerce employees into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

However, in Canada, terminated employees have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.