Facebook owner Meta completes final round of layoffs, eliminating 10,000 roles

The layoffs at Meta follow a period of declining revenue growth due to high inflation

META PLATFORMS-DECENTRALIZED APP/

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has implemented the final phase of job cuts as part of its plan to eliminate a total of 10,000 roles. This round of layoffs, which affected various departments and operations, marked the conclusion of a three-part restructuring initiative announced in March. Employees in teams such as marketing, site security, enterprise engineering, program management, content strategy, and corporate communications took to LinkedIn to announce their layoffs. Additionally, positions in units focused on privacy and integrity were also affected.

Earlier this year, Meta became the first major tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs, after letting go of over 11,000 employees in the previous fall. These cuts brought the company's headcount back to its mid-2021 levels, following a period of rapid expansion that had doubled its workforce since 2020. Despite the layoffs, Meta's shares have seen significant growth in value, making it one of the top performers in the S&P 500 index, largely due to its cost-cutting measures and focus on artificial intelligence.

Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stated in March that the majority of the second round of layoffs would occur in three stages over several months, with most of the process concluding in May. However, he also mentioned the possibility of smaller rounds of layoffs continuing beyond that. The cuts have primarily affected non-engineering roles, emphasizing the importance of engineering positions within the company.

Zuckerberg has committed to a substantial restructuring of the business teams and a return to a more optimal ratio of engineers to other roles. Even within the technology teams, non-engineering positions such as content design and user experience research have been significantly reduced. In April, during a company town hall, Zuckerberg disclosed that around 4,000 employees were laid off, following a smaller impact on recruiting teams in March.

Meta revealed that the latest round of cuts would impact approximately 490 employees at its international headquarters in Dublin, representing almost 20% of its Irish workforce. Notably, two top executives in the Indian market, Avinash Pant (director of marketing) and Saket Jha Saurabh (director and head of media partnerships), were also let go. These executives did not provide immediate comments on the matter.

The layoffs at Meta follow a period of declining revenue growth due to high inflation and a digital advertising pullback resulting from the e-commerce boom during the pandemic. Furthermore, Meta has been investing billions of dollars into its Reality Labs unit, focused on the metaverse, which incurred a loss of $13.7 billion in 2022. The company is also working on strengthening its infrastructure to support artificial intelligence initiatives.

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