Zuckerberg signaled that the company was in for leaner times back in July, noting in an internal meeting that his company was approaching one of the “worst downturns that we’ve seen in recent history” and would slow hiring to prepare. While many companies in tech are battening down the hatches at the moment given a worsening global economic outlook, Meta is also grappling with fresh threats to its advertising business, most notably from iOS privacy changes implemented by Apple last year. Meta is far from the only tech company downsizing at the moment, but a hiring freeze still signals relatively dire times for the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta has thrown a lot of weight behind VR and creating its own metaverse in recent months and is also scrambling to build out short-form video products, like Reels, that can compete with TikTok. Bloomberg reports that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to freeze hiring and restructure some groups within the company Thursday in an internal all-hands call.Īccording to Bloomberg, Meta plans to shrink budgets widely within the company, including to teams that it was recently investing in. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.After a decade of explosive growth, the company formerly known as Facebook is planning to trim down. Even as the company is firing employees, it continues plowing billions of dollars into improving infrastructure for artificial intelligence technology and Zuckerberg’s vision of the metaverse. In February, Zuckerberg announced that 2023 would be the “year of efficiency,” sending the stock soaring 23% in one day and validating the cost-cutting measures. In the face of falling sales, Meta was met with harsh scrutiny over the billions of dollars it’s spending on the virtual reality platform called the metaverse, a business line that may take a decade to make money, and investors drove the stock down 64% for the worst year on record. Then last year annual revenue growth declined for the first time as the economy looked less certain and changes by Apple Inc. made digital ads less effective, prompting marketers to pull back spending. The company also earlier cut its whole Instagram presence in London.Īntioch extends $30,000 incentives to attract new police hiresĮxecutives have blamed a rush of hiring during the pandemic, when people were stuck at home spending more time online on Meta’s social media platforms and advertising dollars surged. In Ireland, Meta said Wednesday it expected to eliminate about 490 roles, across several teams including finance, sales, marketing and engineering. in San Francisco, and Zuckerberg plans to address those now out of a job this morning, one of the people said. In some countries, a large portion of the local workforce has been affected. Zuckerberg announced which business units would be impacted weeks ago, leaving workers anxious and demotivated, making up tasks for themselves or avoiding work until there’s a clearer directive, others said.įired employees were notified individually by email at 5 a.m. Notably, Meta is still deciding on its product roadmap for the rest of the year, while it sorts out resources following cuts in the tech group, a person familiar with the matter said.ĭuring the limbo, employees have been unsure who to collaborate with, how to shift responsibilities on their teams or who would be cut next, according to current and recently let-go employees, who asked not to be named discussing internal issues. But employees said some important work and planning has been at a standstill. Meta promised faster product development and decision-making that sent its shares up more than 100% so far this year. The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said the layoffs were necessary to improve efficiency, after over-hiring during the pandemic. Zuckerberg has said further cuts will come in only a “small number of cases” for the rest of the year, giving those people left a cold sense of relief. Initial reductions affected the company’s recruiting and human resources departments, and in late April jobs in Meta’s tech groups were slashed. The layoffs complete the bulk of the restructuring Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced in March to eliminate 10,000 positions. Now, remaining staff are hoping an uncomfortable limbo at the company can end. employees received news Wednesday of the final round of previously announced job cuts, which affected thousands of workers in the company’s business departments. By Alex Barinka, Aisha Counts and Sarah Frier | Bloomberg
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