On Tuesday, Meta, the business that owns Facebook, revealed a new round of layoffs as part of the company’s “year of efficiency,” according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as the American IT industry continues to contract.
In a communication to staff members, Zuckerberg announced that Meta would cut 10,000 jobs over the coming months, with middle management as the target group, and that 5,000 other positions would go unfilled. The layoffs come after the corporation said in November that it would eliminate 11,000 jobs.
As the business formally ends the hiring frenzy that resulted from big tech ramping up operations to satisfy strong demand during the coronavirus outbreak, the recruitment department at Meta will suffer the first casualties.
In succeeding months, tech and business departments will also be affected and “in a limited number of circumstances, it may take till the end of the year to complete these adjustments,” Zuckerberg warned.
“This will be tough and there’s no way around that. It will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues who have been part of our success,” Zuckerberg said.
In January, Zuckerberg warned that further pain was coming when he told analysts the company’s “management theme for 2023 is the ‘Year of Efficiency'” and that he would focus on making the company “a stronger and more nimble organisation.”
Meta had suffered a rough 2022 amid a souring economic climate, which forced advertisers to cut back on marketing, and Apple’s data privacy changes, which have reduced leeway for ad personalisation.