Mark Zuckerberg Confirms Layoffs to Begin This Wednesday at Meta
Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) confirmed will start laying off their employees on Wednesday morning, told the Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in front of hundreds of executives on Tuesday.
Appearing downcast, Zuckerberg claimed his accountability for the company’s missteps. In that Tuesday’s meeting, the CEO also admitted his overoptimism about growth had led to over-staffing, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. He described the plan as broad cuts and specifically mentioned the recruiting and business teams as among those facing layoffs.
The company’s layoff plans are expected to be announced internally at 6 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. The specific employees losing their jobs will be informed over the course of the morning, the report said.
Meta’s head of human resources, Lori Goler, reassured employees who lose their jobs will be provided with at least four months of salary as severance, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
In their last report at the end of September, the mother company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram reported its company with over 87,000 employees.
Tech industry has been suffering through a severe slowdown in recent months, as most of the economic activities moved indoors during the pandemic. A global economic downturn, rising interest rates and regulatory struggles have moved tech companies, including Alphabet and Amazon to slow or cease hiring.
Twitter — following Elon Musk’s $44 billion take over also just laid off half its workforce across teams ranging from communications and content curation to product and engineering. Reported by Reuters, Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) also laid off around 1,000 employees across several divisions in October, according to an Axios report.
On the other hand, Bloomberg on Sunday reported Twitter was reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs, asking them to return.
In recent months, Meta looks lost in confusion over the company’s future, as its flagship platform, Facebook, loses young users. The platform got hit even worse as it has to face revenue challenges after the changes in Apple’s privacy policies. Meanwhile, investors appear still unconvinced by the company’s pivot to the metaverse.
Last month, investors wiped $80bn (￡69bn) off the company’s market value after the report of their halved profits during the third quarter was released. This devaluation is claimed as the most dramatic devaluation by Wall Street since the start of the year.
Meta’s third quarter results were the latest in a series of disappointing earnings reports. It lost $230bn in market value in February in the biggest one-day loss in history for a US company.
Meta had hinted job cuts were coming, after first announcing a staff hiring freeze and potential restructuring in September.
Source: Reuters & The Guardian