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Meta plans thousands more lay-offs globally as soon as this week

Facebook and Instagram owner cut 11,000 staff, including 350 in Ireland, last year

The Meta Offices on 4 Grand Canal Square. The company plans a new wave of job cuts globally, according to Bloomberg News. Photograph: Alan Betson / The Irish Times

Tue Mar 7 2023 - 07:38

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is planning a fresh round of lay-offs and will cut thousands of employees as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The world’s largest social networking company is eliminating more jobs, on top of a 13 per cent reduction in November, in a bid to become a more efficient organisation. In its earlier round of cuts, Meta slashed 11,000 workers in what was its first major lay-off, including about 350 in Ireland. The company has also been working to flatten its organisation, giving buyout packages to managers and cutting whole teams it deems non-essential, Bloomberg News reported in February, a move that is still being finalised and could affect thousands of staffers.

The imminent round of cuts is being driven by financial targets and is separate from the “flattening”, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. Meta, which has seen a slowdown in advertising revenue and has shifted focus to a virtual-reality platform called the metaverse, has been asking directors and vice-presidents to make lists of employees that can be let go, the people said. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the plans on Monday.

This phase of lay-offs could be finalised in the next week, according to the people. Those working on the plan are hoping to have it ready before chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg goes on parental leave for his third child, which may be imminent, one person said.

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The November cuts were a surprise, but another round of firings has been widely anticipated by the Meta workforce. Zuckerberg has dubbed 2023 Meta’s “year of efficiency”, and the company has been communicating that theme to employees during performance reviews, which were completed last week, the people said.

Workers at the Menlo Park, California-based company described heightened anxiety and low morale among colleagues lately. Some employees expressed worry about whether they’d receive their bonuses, which are set to be distributed this month, if they lose their jobs beforehand, the people said. – Bloomberg

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