Mark Zuckerberg’s self-proclaimed “year of efficiency” continues with an alleged second round of mass layoffs at Meta just months after the first-ever major budget cut, which affected 11,000 workers.
Thousands of workers at the Silicon Valley tech giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the struggling Meta Quest VR system, could reportedly be laid off this week pending final approval from Zuckerberg, who is expected to go on paternity leave for his third child. The news was first reported by Bloomberg.
According to the Bloomberg report, the layoffs are a result of the company’s desire to meet financial goals – and are distinct from a broader “smoothing” and reduction of middle managers at the company.
The report also claims that morale has plummeted at the company, with employees concerned they will miss out on their annual bonuses if they are fired before they are paid.
A Meta spokesperson declined to confirm details of the Bloomberg report to SFGATE.
The news follows with a worrying February report from the Financial Times, which claimed delays in budget approval – which would result in more layoffs – brought productivity at Meta to a halt.
In addition to broader macroeconomic challenges, Meta is affected by a specific subset of struggles. Zuckerberg’s virtual reality pipe dream—manifested in the relentless push for Quest goggles and the Horizon Worlds “metaverse”—has failed to gain traction despite major marketing efforts and even bigger investments. The company also suffered from the changing digital advertising economy, seeing its first drop in ad revenue in 2022 as Apple’s privacy protections continue to reverberate across the industry.
But not all workers are pessimistic about the layoffs. “Every morning I wake up and pray it’s me so I can travel,” a Meta employee told the anonymous job forum Blind.
Have you heard anything about Meta or any other technology company in the Bay Area? Securely contact SFGATE tech editor Joshua Bote on Signal at 707-742-3756 or email him at joshua.bote@sfgate.com.
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