Including the latest job cuts, Meta’s workforce will be reduced by around 21,000 employees since November.
American tech major Meta is reportedly planning a fresh round of job cuts as soon as today. The company could potentially lay off as many as 6,000 employees from non-technical departments following similar job cuts in April, according to various media reports.
Meta’s head of people will post a note to employees about the layoff details and process, Vox reported quoting the company’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg; adding that both the affected and non-impacted employees will be informed about the decision. The downsizing at the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp is seen as a part of around 10,000 layoffs announced by Meta’s chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg in March. Out of these, 4,000 roles were eliminated in April.
Meta laid off its recruiting team in March followed by a restructuring of its tech groups in April. The CEO said in his March announcement that business groups will be downsized in late May.
Calling 2023 the “year of efficiency,” Zuckerberg said the company is focused on flattening the organization, canceling lower-priority projects, and reducing its hiring rates. Zuckerberg said in February to bring the company’s costs under control in order to improve business performance given “the new economic reality.” He warned that the new economic reality could continue for many years.
The tech giant announced its first round of job cuts in November last year and laid off more than 11,000 employees, or almost 13% of its workforce at the time. Meta then announced to also freeze new hiring. Including the latest job cuts, Meta’s workforce will be reduced by around 21,000 employees since November.
Meanwhile, not just Meta but several other tech companies including Sundar Pichai-led Alphabet, Elon Musk-led Twitter, and Satya Nadella-led Microsoft, among others, are laying off thousands of employees in an attempt to gear up for a global economic slowdown. In a nutshell, a setback in consumer spending due to high inflation and interest rates along with the threat of a looming recession this year has pushed corporates to keep a lid on their spending.
