Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is set to lay off around 10,000 employees, representing approximately 13% of its workforce. The job cuts will affect the company's recruiting team this week, with further restructuring to follow in April and May. In addition to cutting staff, the company is closing approximately 5,000 job postings that have yet to be filled. This marks Meta's second round of layoffs in six months, following a November 2022 announcement that saw 11,000 jobs lost. The company has been reducing unchecked growth and trimming employee perks since a global digital advertising slowdown. The move is part of the company's plan to streamline its operations and focus on efficiency, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying that he wants to reduce the number of middle managers. Meta has struggled with the privacy changes to Apple's mobile operating system and increased competition from TikTok and is in the midst of a difficult transition to a "metaverse" company.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/technology/meta-facebook-layoffs.html
6 comments:
I also saw the news that Meta was cutting approximately 10,000 jobs; I don't find it surprising given the competition from TikTok and Zuckerberg's goals to cut down middle management positions, but I am curious how this will impact the overall job market in the coming months. Laying off workers and closing job openings before they are filled is in the Federal Reserve's best interest in order to slow inflation, but these particular positions represent a portion of the economy who normally do not struggle with finding a job--those with college degrees.
The layoffs at Meta (Facebook and Instagram's parent company) means that around 10,000 employees will lose their jobs. This could lead to a decrease in consumer spending, make it harder for people to find new jobs and could affect the broader tech industry. All of these factors combined could potentially lead to a slowdown in economic growth in the US.
This does not surprise me as twitter and other social media companies were laying workers off. Meta definitely over-hired and they need to protect profits, so the quickest way to do so is through firing employees that they may not need. We should all be concerned about the layoffs because it sends the message that job openings are decreasing. I fear that jobs are going to be harder to compete for over the next year or 2 which is poor timing for all of us.
The overhiring that occurred during the pandemic, coupled with recession fears, has played a significant role in the layoffs of tech workers. I expect there to be more layoffs in the tech industry as investors pressure businesses like Facebook to maximize their profits.
Hello Tsotne,
As Facebook begins to decrease its number of employees through let goes and through decreasing job openings, it is a clear sign that they are trying to convert fully into meta company. Facebook is not the only company who have announced layoffs. In fact, apple has been doing similar things in terms of letting people go and restricting people during the application process. I am just hopeful that these people are able to find jobs quickly to continue to contribute to American growth and GDP.
Overall, really good post. Well done.
I am not surprised Facebook has decided to continue laying people off. As you mentioned in your article, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to reduced the amount of middle managers. The company probably feels that this position is overvalued and tasks among middle managers can be done by less people. This reduction in Facebook's employees could also lead to higher wages for those who remain. As we learned in class employees' wages equal their marginal productivity, so if there is a shift toward efficiency, productive workers may benefit.
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