Meta is Laying Off More Than 11,000 Employees
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this morning that the company is laying off more than 11,000 employees across the world, a number that represents 13% of the company’s workforce. Zuckerberg described the layoffs as “some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history,” adding his intent to “take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here.”
In his message to employees, the Meta CEO explained that the company overestimated the surge of e-commerce at the start of the pandemic, and the company grew too quickly as a result. “Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected. I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that,” Zuckerberg wrote.”
After increasing its investments during the pandemic, Meta is now trying to cut costs as much as possible, which means scaling back some projects and reducing its real estate footprint. While Meta’s global workforce is being hit hard, perks for employees who remain are also being adjusted.
“Recruiting will be disproportionately affected since we’re planning to hire fewer people next year. We’re also restructuring our business teams more substantially. This is not a reflection of the great work these groups have done, but what we need going forward,” Zuckerberg emphasized.
Meta employees in the US who have been laid off will receive 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for every year of service, health insurance for six months, and three months of career support. Meta aims to provide a similar level of support to its employees outside of the US.
Meta isn’t the only company major tech company to announce major layoffs this year: Twitter just got rid of half of its workforce after Elon Musk took over the company, and its future is more uncertain than ever. Unlike Twitter, though, Meta is in a much better position even though Mark Zuckerberg’s bet on the Metaverse may or may not pay off.
“Our core business is among the most profitable ever built with huge potential ahead,” Zuckerberg confidently said today. “And we’re leading in developing the technology to define the future of social connection and the next computing platform. We do historically important work. I’m confident that if we work efficiently, we’ll come out of this downturn stronger and more resilient than ever.”