On Wednesday, Meta launched its second wave of mass layoffs in six months, as the company prepares for a third wave of layoffs to begin in May.
Staff have been giving voice to their displeasure on internal messaging systems. One of the most popular questions on the company’s internal message board reads, “You’ve shattered the morale and confidence in leadership of many high performers who work with intensity. Why should we stay at Meta?” Other questions included, “Will there be more layoffs?” and “Did we ‘cut deep’ this time?”
According to an internal memo, the layoffs targeted positions in a wide variety of technical teams, including those assigned to work on Facebook, Instagram, Reality Labs, and WhatsApp. One source has said this round of layoffs will target in the range of 4,000 jobs.
In the memo, Lori Goler, Meta’s head of people, said, “This will be a difficult time as we say goodbye to friends and colleagues who have contributed so much to Meta.”
North American employees were notified by email between 4AM and 5AM PT, on Wednesday. In other countries, the times would vary with the country. Meta also requested that employees who could, try to work from home on Wednesday, to allow other employees, “space to process the news.”
In March, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said the company foresaw cutting around 10,000 more jobs in the approaching months, following roughly 11,000 layoffs the company performed in November. Zuckerberg also said that he expected any cuts in April to be focused on the technical departments in the company, while other cuts planned for June will focus more on the business side of the company. According to filings, at the end of 2022, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, had roughly 86,000 employees.
The layoffs frame a year Zuckerberg had referred to as a “year of efficiency,” in which the company would focus on streamlining operations in preparation for a potential oncoming economic slowdown. In the past year, layoffs have hit almost every major tech company, as Silicon Valley has experienced its own economic downturn which has forced companies to radically rein in what had been a freewheeling culture of extravagance.
In a Facebook post last month, Zuckerberg wrote, “This will be tough and there’s no way around that. Over the next couple of months, org leaders will announce restructuring plans focused on flattening our orgs, canceling lower priority projects, and reducing our hiring rates.”
