Meta is set to begin mass layoffs starting Wednesday, November 9, 2022, affecting thousands of workers as revealed on Sunday, November 6, 2022.
At the end of the third quarter of operations, the company reported having roughly 87,000 employees. However, with the planned layoffs, a significant portion of the staff will be lost.
The announcement follows the recently forced headcount reductions at major internet companies as advertisers cut spending in anticipation of a recession.
Read: Meta Rolls Out Communities On WhatsApp
CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the adjustments to the company’s staff in communications, citing a lack of predictability in the macroeconomic climate.
“I had hoped the economy would have more clearly stabilized by now, but from what we’re seeing, it doesn’t yet seem like it has, so we want to plan somewhat conservatively,” Zuckerberg told employees during a weekly Q&A session.
Read: Zuckerberg Hints Hiring Freeze Over Budgetary Constraints
Zuckerberg added that most teams’ budgets will be reduced by Meta and that each team would have to decide how to manage personnel adjustments, signalling hard times for the parent company.
Many internet companies are suspending or stopping hiring in the face of a more generalized global economic slowdown, rising interest rates, and regulatory challenges.
Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg stated that it will take around ten years for the company’s investments in the Metaverse to start showing results. The CEO’s strategy is an effort to cut costs as a result of “freezing” hiring, cancelling projects, and restructuring his workforce.
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