Meta, owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, will cut around 5% of its global workforce, with its lowest-performing employees most likely to leave.
In a memo to staff, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said he had decided to “remove low-performing employees more quickly” ahead of what he called an “intense year” and that he would accelerate the company’s usual performance management system. .
Meta employed 72,000 people worldwide at the end of September, according to its latest financial report, meaning 3,600 workers could be affected by the planned job cuts. The company plans to hire new people to fill these positions later in the year.
The announcement came just days after Meta said it would get rid of third-party fact-checkers and prioritize free speech as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House. It is also ending its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Meta employees in the United States who are affected by the job cuts are expected to be notified by February 10, while those in other countries will be notified at a later date.
“I have decided to raise the bar on performance management,” Zuckerberg wrote in the memo, first reported by Bloomberg.
“We typically manage people who don’t meet expectations over the course of a year, but we will now make deeper reductions based on performance during this cycle.”
The 40-year-old billionaire added: “It’s going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams. »
The layoffs will only affect staff who have been with Meta long enough to qualify for a performance review.
Zuckerberg said the company would “offer generous severance packages,” consistent with previous job cuts, to those who lose theirs.
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Meta shares fell 2.3% on Tuesday, continuing a decline that began the day before.
The company drew widespread criticism for its decision to remove fact-checkers tasked with flagging misleading content, in favor of other users’ ratings. Commenters said this would allow the spread of false information and harmful content on Meta’s platforms.
Like many other tech companies, Meta has invested money in artificial intelligence projects, and Zuckerberg said it would focus on “some of the most important technologies in the world,” including AI.
