Updated Wednesday, May 24:
Meta Platforms has begun what is expected to be its final round of large layoffs this year, according to reports in Reuters and elsewhere, and posts on social media.
The job cuts, part of Mark Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency,” were expected, as the CEO said earlier this year that layoffs would continue in May, ultimately impacting 10,000 people. The staff reductions are expected to impact Meta’s business groups.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, initiated intense cost-cutting measures late last year, laying off 11,000 people amid a softer ad market and after supercharged growth and overhiring during the early COVID-19 era.
Original story:
Meta Platforms is expected to announce a third round of layoffs today, according to reports from Vox and Bloomberg. The layoffs follow two previous rounds of job cuts at Meta, which laid off 11,000 employees back in November and, just last month, announced that an additional 10,000 employees would be laid off, starting with the company’s recruiting team, then with rounds expected in the tech groups in April and the business groups in May.
Though the layoffs have not yet been publicly announced by Meta as of the time of this writing, Vox says news of the third round of redundancies was posted to an internal message board at Meta on Tuesday night.
A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the memo, but referred Fast Company to a blog post from CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month in which he referenced “restructurings and layoffs in our tech groups in late April.”
The memo reportedly stated that the layoffs will include employees from Meta’s four core businesses: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Reality Labs. The memo did not mention the number of layoffs, but one source told Vox it could be in the range of 4,000 positions.
The layoffs will impact jobs in North America and abroad, but some countries will be spared from the cuts. Laid-off North American workers will reportedly be notified of their layoff via email between 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. PST this morning. In the memo, Meta’s head of people, Lori Goler, wrote, “This will be a difficult time as we say goodbye to friends and colleagues who have contributed so much to Meta.”
The further cuts are part of Zuckerberg’s self-styled “year of efficiency” in which he is trying to control costs and rebalance the ship after overhiring during the pandemic and sinking billions into his metaverse, which has yet to gain much traction.
Meta is far from alone in its mass layoffs. Nearly every major tech company has now laid off employees since late last year.
This post has been updated with a response from Meta Platforms and to clarify that the layoffs announced in March would be taking place over a few-month period, not all at once.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
