Facebook parent Meta cuts 11,000 jobs, about 13% of workforce

Facebook parent Meta is laying off 11,000 people, as it faces faltering revenue and broader tech industry distress, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a letter to employees Wednesday.

The job cuts of about 13 per cent of its workforce come one week after widespread layoffs at Twitter under its new owner, billionaire Elon Musk.

Zuckerberg said he had made the decision to hire aggressively, anticipating quick growth even after the COVID-19 pandemic ended.

“Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.

“Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected. I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”

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Social media companies like Meta financially succeeded during the pandemic lockdown period as more people stayed home and scrolled on their phones and computers.

But as the lockdowns ended and people started going outside again, revenue growth began to decline.

Meta investors are mainly concerned with the social media giant spending over $10 billion a year on the “metaverse” as it moves its focus away from social media. Zuckerberg predicts the metaverse, an immersive digital universe, will eventually replace smartphones as the primary way people use technology.

Frightened investors have sent company shares tumbling more than 71 per cent since the start of the year and the stock now trades at levels last seen in 2015.

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Zuckerberg said additional cost cuts at Meta will occur in the coming months.

Employees will receive an email letting them know if they are among those being let go. People losing their jobs will lose access to most company systems due to the sensitive nature of that information.

“We’re keeping email addresses active throughout the day so everyone can say farewell,” Zuckerberg said.

Former employees will receive 16 weeks of base pay, plus two more weeks for every year with the company. Health insurance for those employees and their families will continue for six months.

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