On Wednesday, Meta Platforms initiated another series of job reductions, this time affecting engineers and related technology teams. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg is focused on refining operations to position 2023 as a “year of efficiency.”
In March, Meta became the first major tech firm to declare a second wave of extensive layoffs, stating that 10,000 employees would be affected over three distinct phases spanning several months.
The latest layoffs, while anticipated, elicited frustration among Meta’s workforce. Employee inquiries regarding layoffs dominated the discussions on an internal company forum in the lead-up to an employee town hall scheduled for the near future.
One question, highlighted by Reuters, expressed concern over leadership and morale: “You’ve shattered the morale and confidence in leadership of many high performers who work with intensity. Why should we stay at Meta?”
This sentiment echoes remarks made by Zuckerberg last year, in which he urged workers to adopt a more intense approach to tackle the business hurdles faced by the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Meta chose not to comment on the situation when approached by Reuters.
The first round of layoffs occurred in the fall, impacting over 11,000 employees or 13 percent of the workforce at that time. This was part of a larger trend within the tech industry, which has seen numerous companies reducing their workforce after a surge in digital advertising and cloud computing spurred by the pandemic.
Alongside the layoffs, Meta is discontinuing several lower-priority initiatives and is also restructuring its management to reduce layers of oversight.
Investors have responded positively to the company’s downsizing efforts. Meta’s stock has risen about 80 percent this year, significantly outperforming the 16 percent gain of the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite during the same timeframe.
The company is scheduled to report its first-quarter results on April 26, with analysts anticipating a slight recovery in the digital advertising market amid ongoing regulatory scrutiny of its primary competitor, TikTok.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
