Year of Inefficiency: Meta is laying off employees, again...

Kerem Gülen
May 24, 2023
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Meta is set to initiate a fresh round of workforce downsizing this Wednesday, impacting a staggering number of more than 6,000 individuals. These layoffs mark a significant milestone in Meta's ongoing corporate reorganization campaign, known as the "Year of Efficiency," designed to curtail expenses and optimize the company's operational framework.

The impending staff reductions were no surprise within the company. Having already experienced a significant loss of 11,000 employees in November, Meta's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, made it clear in a blog post published in March that a further 10,000 job cuts would be implemented in two waves, scheduled for late April and late May.

While the previous layoffs primarily impacted the company's technical departments, this week's downsizing primarily targeted its business functions. Additionally, Meta made the decision to halt the hiring process for approximately 5,000 vacant positions. Since November, when the organization, formerly known as Facebook, boasted a workforce of around 87,000 employees, Meta has now laid off approximately 21,000 individuals globally, accounting for roughly a quarter of its workforce.

“Since we reduced our workforce last year, one surprising result is that many things have gone faster. In retrospect, I underestimated the indirect costs of lower priority projects,” stated Zuckerberg in a blog post published on March.

As the exodus of employees continues at Meta, it comes as little surprise that morale within the company has plummeted. With the specter of potential layoffs looming over their heads for months, employees have been anxiously awaiting their fate. The prospect of being let go carries significant added stress, as it may entail the loss of crucial benefits such as health insurance or work visas.

Image generated by Midjourney

Meta's division, Reality Labs, responsible for spearheading the development of its metaverse ventures, proved to be a substantial financial burden for the company in the previous fiscal year, amounting to a staggering $13.7 billion.

Despite facing skepticism from investors, Meta's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, remains resolute in his conviction that virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) will be the driving forces behind the future of social connectivity. Undeterred by doubts, Zuckerberg has intensified his commitment to these emerging technologies, steadfastly advocating for their potential to shape the next frontier of human interaction.

“A narrative has developed that we’re somehow moving away from focusing on the metaverse vision, so I just want to say up front that that’s not accurate. We’ve been focusing on AI and the metaverse, and we will continue to,” Zuckerberg stated in a quarterly earnings call last month.

Hard times for Meta

Amidst ongoing challenges, Meta finds itself navigating a series of setbacks. In addition to the sale of its acquisition, Giphy, to Shutterstock, the company is also grappling with a wave of layoffs. These recent developments paint a picture of a company going through a difficult phase. But Meta is not alone. The technology industry has been shaken by a surge of workforce reductions this year, affecting several prominent players within the field. AmazonDisneyAppleSoundcloudYahooIntelLinkedIn, Alibaba, and Google have all been compelled to make the challenging choice of downsizing their staff members in recent times.

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Comments

  1. John said on May 24, 2023 at 5:30 pm
    Reply

    This company is terribly managed it grow without having a need for growth. Too many useless failed projects burning through money. Any other company the whole upper management would be fired.

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