SAN JOSE — Zoom Video Communications, whose fortunes and hiring soared during the coronavirus outbreak, has decided to chop nearly 200 jobs in the Bay Area, according to a new filing with state labor officials.

The job cuts, which all took place at the tech company’s downtown San Jose offices, were effective on Feb. 7, the WARN letter to the state Employment Development Department showed.

An estimated 199 jobs were eliminated by Zoom, according to the WARN notice, which the EDD released to this news organization on Wednesday.

San Jose-based Zoom rode a wave of demand for its products and services due to the worldwide push for working, meeting and learning remotely due to the coronavirus-linked business shutdowns.

Now that the economic and lifestyle effects of the coronavirus have begun to fade, Zoom and other tech companies have been forced to face the harsh reality that their products and services aren’t as much in demand.

The Zoom employees affected by the new job cuts are based at the company’s San Jose office at 55 Almaden Boulevard, Matthew Saxon, Zoom’s chief people officer, stated in the WARN letter to the EDD.

The videoconferencing and communications giant described the job cuts as permanent.

“None of the employees are represented by a union,” Saxon wrote in the WARN notice. “None of the employees have bumping rights.” This means that affected employees are not allowed to displace Zoom workers with less seniority.

Since mid-2022, tech and biotech companies have revealed plans to eliminate at least 21,400 jobs in the Bay Area, including the 199 layoffs that were conducted by Zoom. Some of the Bay Area tech and biotech layoffs have already taken place, while others are upcoming, according to this news organization’s review of scores of WARN notices filed with the EDD.

The job cuts revealed in the WARN letter represent a visible local impact arising from the worldwide layoffs the company announced on Feb. 7.

“Over the past few years, Zoom has become an indispensable source of connection for businesses and individuals as well as a globally recognized brand,” Eric Yuan, Zoom’s chief executive officer, wrote in an open letter to the company’s employees.

Zoom revealed that the company’s life after COVID would partly consist of layoffs, the letter to employees showed.

A growing number of workers worldwide have begun to return to their offices, reducing the need for tech systems and devices that allow people to communicate remotely.

“We have made the tough but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15% and say goodbye to around 1,300 hardworking, talented colleagues,” Yuan stated in the letter to the company’s workers.

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