Meta formerly Facebook will cut 4,000 jobs immediately as part of a larger plan to cut 10,000 jobs amid the tech industry slump. Meta workers are bracing for thousands of additional layoffs as the embattled social media firm continues to cut costs.
The social media firm conducted its second round of mass layoffs in the past six months on Wednesday, ahead of another set of layoffs planned for May.
The layoffs come after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in March that the company would cut 10,000 more jobs in the coming months, after already cutting 11,000 in November.
Zuckerberg previously said that cuts in April would impact tech departments, while another planned round of cuts in May will impact the business side of the company. At the end of last year, Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, had around 86,000 employees.
According to Zuckerberg, Meta’s continued layoffs are part of his plans for a year of efficiency in 2023. The layoffs are a reminder that after nearly two decades of almost uninterrupted growth, major tech companies like Meta are now undergoing an intense period of cutbacks and belt-tightening measures.
Silicon Valley as a whole has been going through an economic downturn that has drastically changed what was once considered a free-spending work culture. Long gone are the days of unlimited perks, travel, and nonstop hiring. And in the past year, almost every major tech company has had rounds of layoffs. Meta’s have been particularly painful, with the company issuing the cuts in waves.
The company reported a peak of 87,000 employees globally in 2022, after a hiring spree that escalated after the Covid pandemic sent online activity booming. In recent months, however, Meta’s operations have struggled, with investors wiping $80bn (£69bn) off the company’s market value in October after a poor earnings report.
In November last year, the company laid off 11,000 workers. Combined with today’s cut, Meta is on track to cut about 21,000 jobs and has implemented a hiring freeze for most new roles. While these cuts target technical workers, Zuckerberg said in late May that additional layoffs would affect business groups.
The layoffs come at a time of a broader downturn in space, with other tech giants including Google, Tesla and Amazon implementing hiring freezes and cuts. The slump has been attributed to many factors as the uncertain economy collides with years of unfettered growth and pandemic-fueled hiring sprees.
Amid the turmoil, investors will be watching closely as Meta reports its first-quarter earnings results next week.
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