Zoom And Deloitte Scale Back Employee Benefits In Move That Could Signal Broader Workplace Shift – AfroTech
Employees at two major companies are seeing changes to their benefits as the technology and professional services industries adjust their compensation strategies.
Zoom has reduced its paid parental leave this year, offering 18 weeks for birthing parents — down from 22 to 24 weeks — and 10 weeks for non-birthing parents, down from 16, Business Insider reports.
Deloitte also plans to reduce parental leave offerings in addition to scaling back or eliminating annual PTO, pension contributions, and IVF funding. These changes are set to take effect in January 2027, and will primarily impact employees in support roles, including administrative services, information technology, and finance, per the outlet.
Bobbi Thomason, a professor at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, told Business Insider that these changes could point to a broader shift in how companies approach benefits.
Power Shifts To Employers In Cooling Job Market
According to Business Insider, a 2026 MetLife survey of 2,550 full-time workers found that paid parental leave, vacation time, and disability coverage continue to rank among the most valued workplace benefits.
However, with workforce reductions on the rise and job growth slowing, workers have fewer opportunities to switch jobs or resist cuts to core benefits — leaving many to remain in their roles even as companies roll back highly valued benefits.
“They don’t have the leverage they did a few years ago,” said Capitol Benefits CEO Joshua Lavine, per Business Insider.
At the same time, employers are placing greater emphasis on measurable performance, raising performance expectations, and increasingly monitoring workers’ use of AI tools, notes the outlet.
Human resources analyst and consultant Josh Bersin noted that the shift in bargaining power may encourage companies to scale back benefits as a cost-control measure.
“If they feel that they can improve the profitability of the firm by getting rid of some of these benefits, they will,” Lavine said, per Business Insider. “It’s definitely better than layoffs.”
Benefit Cuts Could Backfire On Employers
But cutting benefits carries risks, Christopher Myers, director of the Center for Innovative Leadership at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, told Business Insider. Rather than quitting, employees may disengage — pulling back effort in ways that hurt productivity. And if labor market conditions shift, companies could face increased difficulty retaining top talent and experience potential reputational damage.
Zoom declined to comment on the change, according to Business Insider. A Deloitte spokesperson previously told the outlet that the firm is updating its American talent structure to better align with employees’ skills and the work they deliver for clients.
