Facebook Parent Company Meta Lays Off 11000 Workers – Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced massive layoffs on Wednesday, slashing 11,000 jobs, or approximately 13% of its workforce, in response to the industry trend downturn that has shaken Silicon Valley in recent months. The layoffs reflect the first significant reduction in the company’s employees since its founding in 2004 and are the latest indication that tech titans are facing a moment of crisis.
Calling the layoffs “some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company overhired during the pandemic, assuming the ultra-rapid growth would keep going. “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,” Zuckerberg wrote in a message to employees. “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.” Meta, which has around 87,000 employees, has recently undergone belt-tightening measures like hiring freezes and eliminating nonessential travel.
In his note to employees, Zuckerberg stated that Meta’s hiring freeze will continue, and that further cost-cutting measures will be announced in the coming months. The radical reorganization occurs as the company suffers significant transformation on two fronts. First, the corporation has made a multibillion-dollar investment in the so-called metaverse, a virtual utopia where people live, work, and play in virtual reality. It is an unproven and costly pivot away from the social media business.
Secondly, the uncertain economy has made jittery advertisers slash spending. Ads account for nearly all of Meta’s revenue, thus the decrease has been devastating. It has also harmed ad-dependent sites such as Snap and YouTube. According to Zuckerberg, the 11,000 former Meta employees will receive 16 weeks of severance pay and six months of health insurance. He stated that resources will be made available to assist laid-off holders of visas with immigration status modifications.
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