On 9 November, Meta Platforms Inc. shared that they will be laying off 13% of their workforce (approximately 11 000 workers). It follows as Facebook parent company battles soaring costs, reports Reuters.
This is the first big layoffs in the company’s 18-year history and it follows thousands of job cuts at other tech giants, like Microsoft and Twitter. The bubble that grew at the time of the pandemic has burst in the face of record-high inflation and rapidly growing interest rates.
«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,» Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a message to employees.
He stated that it’s time to become more efficient and that the company will focus its resources on an AI recognition engine, business platforms, and Metaverse.
Meta will pay 16 weeks of base pay and two additional weeks for every year of service, as well as all remaining paid time off as part of the severance package to the former employees. Also, they will receive healthcare coverage for six months.