ZipRecruiter slashing 20% of staff, CEO accepts pay cut

Dozens of jobs are on the chopping block at ZipRecruiter, as the company streamlines its organization and optimizes its cost structure.

In a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 31, the job site announced that it’s laying off approximately 270 employees, or 20 per cent of its global workforce.

“This action was taken in response to current market conditions and after reducing other discretionary expenses, with a view toward driving long-term efficiency,” the filing reads.

Around half of the affected workers are from ZipRecruiter’s sales and customer support teams. It remains unclear how many Canadian employees are impacted by the latest round of cuts.

The company added that it expects to complete “substantially all of the headcount reduction by the end of the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2023.”

According to LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter employs a total workforce of more than 1,600 people.

CEO agrees to pay cut

In addition to the layoffs, ZipRecruiter CEO Ian Siegel agreed to have his base salary reduced by 30 per cent as of June 1.

According to news outlets, including CNN, Siegel’s base salary is around $550,000, but his total compensation in 2022 was roughly twice that amount.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Can my employer cut my pay in Ontario?
• Pay cuts in Alberta: Employee rights
• Can employers in B.C. cut a worker’s pay?

Major tech layoffs continue

The reduction at ZipRecruiter comes amid a flurry of tech sector layoffs in 2023.

Several big names, including Meta, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Dell, Amazon, Alphabet, and Clearco, are significantly scaling back their staffing levels as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

SEE ALSO
• Shopify employees launch $130M class action following layoffs
• Lyft CEO slashing jobs as ride-sharing company struggles
• Layoffs in Canada

Termination agreements for ZipRecruiter staff

As part of the layoff announcement, ZipRecruiter said it expects to “incur a pre-tax charge in the range of $7-million to $9-million during the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2023, consisting of one-time severance and other termination benefit costs.”

In Canada, non-unionized employees at the job site 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 why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized 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.