Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs, is set to make a significant announcement regarding job cuts on Wednesday. The downsizing is part of an ongoing restructuring effort that will see the company lay off 10,000 employees, impacting a range of technical teams.
The news was revealed in an internal memo sent by Meta’s Head of Human Resources, Lori Goler, which was obtained by The Washington Post. Goler stated that senior leaders had made the decision to reduce the workforce as part of a broader restructuring plan aimed at making the company leaner and more efficient. Affected divisions include teams working on Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and the virtual-reality division Reality Labs, among others.
Employees affected by the job cuts will be notified today, with different processes in place for workers outside North America. Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, previously announced that the company would reveal layoffs and restructuring plans for technical teams in April, followed by cuts to supporting business roles in May.
In total, Meta anticipates cutting around 10,000 jobs and not filling 5,000 previously expected job openings. Zuckerberg has argued that the rebalance will create an “optimal ratio of engineers to other roles” to ensure the company remains primarily technologists. The layoffs come on the heels of workforce cuts in November that saw 11,000 jobs, or around 13% of Meta’s workforce, slashed.
The company is facing numerous business challenges, including competition for advertising revenue and users from short-form video platform TikTok. Furthermore, new privacy rules from Apple have impacted Meta’s ability to offer targeted advertising, while some digital advertisers are reducing their spending due to rising inflation and slowing demand in the e-commerce market.
In response to these challenges, Zuckerberg has identified a key priority for the company as becoming leaner and more efficient. Senior executives and staff in human resources, legal, and finance departments have been tasked with redrawing internal organisational charts at Meta. This process involves deflating the company’s hierarchy to decrease the number of management layers between interns and Zuckerberg, as well as cancelling lower-priority projects.
Despite its financial difficulties, Meta continues to invest in innovative projects. In February, Zuckerberg announced the formation of a new internal working group focused on “turbocharging” the company’s investment in generative artificial intelligence. Additionally, Meta is promoting its short-form video product, Reels, to compete with TikTok and exploring the creation of a new decentralised social media network that would compete with Twitter.
While Meta continues to invest in its ambitious metaverse project, the company has acknowledged that operating losses are expected for Reality Labs, the division responsible for virtual reality offerings. The company has struggled to grow an audience for virtual reality and has stated that much of the technology needed to power the metaverse will take years to develop.
