Meta, the parent company of Facebook, plans to slash a whopping 10,000 jobs as well as 5,000 open roles. CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg confirmed this bit of news in an open memo to his employees. This comes after a similar announcement back in November, in which the company culled 11,000 employees. Major yikes. So, what’s going on over there? According to Zuckerberg, it’s all about efficiency and cost-reduction measures.
“As I’ve talked about efficiency this year, I’ve said that part of our work will involve removing jobs — and that will be in service of both building a leaner, more technical company and improving our business performance to enable our long term vision,” said Zuckerberg.
Meta’s restructuring efforts are likely a direct response to plummeting profits and revenue. The restructuring and elimination of jobs will begin in April, and the recruitment team will be the first to be impacted. The company will start culling positions in the business groups in May. In addition to cancelling smaller projects, the company is also in a hiring freeze across a wide variety of teams. The freeze will lift when the restructuring is complete.
Zuckerberg addressed hybrid work in his memo, too. According to early analysis of performance data, in-person software engineers performed better than remote ones. He then indicated that current employees should “find more opportunities to work with your colleagues in person.” Is the end of hybrid work nigh? Only time and the company’s data analysis will tell.
Mass lay offs are awful no matter which way you spin it. However, with Meta’s falling profits and revenue, there may be too many holes in this metaphorical ship. Will the ship sink completely? Probably not. Do these lay offs taint the company’s reputation? Absolutely.
“This will be tough and there’s no way around that. It will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues who have been part of our success. They’ve dedicated themselves to our mission and I’m personally grateful for all their efforts. We will support people in the same ways we have before and treat everyone with the gratitude they deserve,” said Zuckerberg.