Home Tech Meta to lay off thousands of employees as Zuckerberg warns of ‘intense year’

Meta to lay off thousands of employees as Zuckerberg warns of ‘intense year’

0 comments
'Disheartening': Fact-checker reacts to Meta's move to scrap his position

Meta, owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, will cut about 5% of its global workforce, with its worst-performing employees the most likely to leave.

In a memo to staff, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he had decided to “move out underperforming employees faster,” ahead of what he said would be a “busy year,” and would speed up the usual management system. of the company’s performance. .

Meta employed 72,000 people worldwide at the end of September, according to its latest financial report, meaning 3,600 workers could be affected by the planned cuts. The company plans to hire new people to fill the positions later this year.

The announcement came just days after Meta said it would get rid of third-party fact-checkers and prioritize free speech as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House. It is also ending its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Meta employees in the U.S. affected by the job cuts are expected to be notified by February 10, while those in other countries will be informed at a later date.

“I have decided to raise the bar on performance management,” Zuckerberg wrote in the memo, which was first reported by Bloomberg.

“We typically manage people who don’t meet expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to make more extensive cuts based on performance over this cycle.”

The 40-year-old billionaire added: “This is going to be an intense year and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams.”

Layoffs will only include staff who have been at Meta long enough to qualify for a performance review.

Zuckerberg said the company would “provide generous severance” in line with previous job cuts for those who lose theirs.

skip past newsletter promotion

Meta shares fell 2.3% on Tuesday, continuing the decline that had begun the previous day.

The company attracted widespread criticism for its decision to remove fact-checkers for flagging misleading content, in favor of notes from other users. Commenters said it would allow the flow of misinformation and harmful content on Meta platforms.

Like many other technology companies, Meta has invested money in artificial intelligence projects, and Zuckerberg said it would focus on “some of the most important technologies in the world,” including AI.

You may also like