By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 12th, 2024
Facebook parent Meta has embarked on another round of layoffs that could affect thousands more amid the company’s ‘Year of Efficiency.’
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is conducting yet another round of layoffs for the third time in less than three months. The Facebook parent has already cut more than 20,000 jobs since November, with the recent downsizing potentially impacting another 6,000 people. Meta’s latest layoff action targets the company’s business division after previous headcount reductions focused on engineering and recruitment teams. The company’s latest layoffs also feed into its overarching agenda to prioritize efficiency this year. Amid the stagnating tech sector, the Menlo Park-based tech conglomerate is restructuring its operational models to save money and maximize profitability.
Meta CEO Zuckerberg Previously Told Staff There Would Be Another Round of Layoffs in Late April and Late May
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously intimated to employees in March that there would be another round of layoffs. In a March 14th blog post, the chief executive revealed plans to cut 10,000 jobs across two layoff rounds toward the end of April and May. At the time, Zuckerberg explained:
“We expect to announce restructurings and layoffs in our tech groups in late April, and then our business groups in late May… Overall, we expect to reduce our team size by around 10,000 people and to close around 5,000 additional open roles that we haven’t yet hired.”
However, the Meta CEO stated that his company would revert to its more liberal hiring policy once the restructuring phase is complete. As Zuckerberg put it:
“After restructuring, we plan to lift hiring and transfer freezes in each group. Other relevant efficiency timelines include targeting this summer to complete our analysis from our hybrid work year of learning so we can further refine our distributed work model.”
Although Zuckerberg still asserts that the mass layoffs have facilitated Meta’s operability, morale remains low at the company. Employees have remained on edge for months, fearing the far-reaching implications of job cuts that could affect them. For instance, some employees losing their jobs could also mean losing their healthcare package or work visa.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning, droves of already affected employees took to LinkedIn with layoff notices, lamenting their job loss. Downsized Meta workers in the US will receive 16 weeks of severance pay in addition to two weeks of pay for every year of service. Furthermore, affected US staff also get six months of health insurance and expedited stock vesting.
Layoffs Come after Two Years of Aggressive Hiring Beginning in 2020
Meta hired aggressively during the Covid era, almost doubling its headcount between 2020 and 2022. However, earlier this year, the company officially embarked on its ‘Year of Efficiency’ plan to tighten its finances. Unfortunately, Meta’s traditional revenue stream from ad sponsorships has taken a hit recently. The company is currently under foreign regulatory fire for alleged user-data violations.
Meta’s stock price has doubled since November and is currently changing hands at $249. The company is not the only tech player to experience increased value after embarking on cost-cutting measures. Reports state that Salesforce Inc (NYSE: CRM) and Google LLC (NASDAQ: GOOGL) also boosted investor confidence following layoffs.