The employee headcount of Meta is about to shrink again. According to reports, Meta is laying off a large chunk(10%) of its employees. However, a Meta spokesperson denied any plans for layoffs at the moment.
At a company meeting, Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta’s work pace would accelerate. And any employees that are unhappy with the changes should leave. “I think some of you might decide that this place isn’t for you and that self-selection is OK with me,” he said.
Will Meta lay off its employees?
Meta is probably looking forward to saying goodbye to a few staff members. That too amidst the recession. According to a report, the company has requested managers to identify potential layoff candidates. Earlier this month, the Vice President of Remote Presence and Engineering, Maher Saba, instructed the managers to remove poor performers.
This resulted from the company’s constant macroeconomic struggles and poor advertising. Saba advised managers to consider the value their teams contribute to Meta in a post on the company’s internal messaging system. Previously Business Insider also made a revelation. They said that one unnamed Meta employee claimed that management had grown harsher about layoffs and raised performance standards at the company.
If Meta does proceed with layoffs, it will mark a shift in strategy from earlier this year. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during an internal call that the company would hire between 6,000 and 7,000 engineers this year. However, this is significantly lower than the previous goal of 10,000.
Why is it happening?
The reason behind the hiring slowdown and possible layoffs is quite evident. Due to Apple’s stringent privacy regulations, meta is not in an extraordinary situation. Apple’s policies prevent social media companies from pulling valuable data from iOS. And to top it off, an economic recession is upon us, and Meta is at the forefront of it.
Earlier this month, managers were instructed to identify team members who “require support” and proceed to remove employees who are unable to get on track. And the company has informed all staff members that the second half of the year will be challenging.
