Meta To Start Latest Round Of Layoffs Next Week: Report

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had earlier talked about the company’s plan to lay off employees in May.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has said it will begin the latest round of layoffs next week, according to an executive who attended a Q&A session with employees on Thursday.

Meta's layoff process would follow a similar approach to the cuts that occurred in April, where 4,000 positions were eliminated from Meta's technology departments.

According to reports, the layoffs will affect Meta’s business departments and potentially affect thousands of employees.

About recent developments:

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had earlier talked about the company’s plan to lay off employees in May.

According to the report, which obtained the recording of a company-wide meeting, Nick Clegg, president (global affairs) of Meta, said, “It’s just a time of great anxiety and uncertainty. … I wish I could have some easy way of providing solace or comfort."

He also said the layoff process would follow a similar approach to the cuts that occurred in April, where 4,000 positions were eliminated from Meta’s technology departments.

During the company meeting, Clegg said, “The third wave is going to happen next week. That affects everybody in the biz teams, including in my orgs. It’s just a time of great anxiety and uncertainty. … I wish I could have some easy way of providing solace or comfort. It is uncertain. And actually it’s really increased my admiration for the way that everyone - notwithstanding that uncertainty - you’re just displaying such resilience and professionalism."

Melinda Davenport, director (internal communications) of Meta, said, “Real talk: We are still going through our layoffs and restructuring that you’ve heard all of our senior leaders mention. And while I know that it’s a tough and tricky situation, we’re going to try to answer all the questions that you may have." Davenport added that the company “may not have all the answers that you’re searching for" but the company is trying their best.

As per Reuters, Meta has struggled with a “post-pandemic slump" in advertising spending from companies facing high inflation and rising interest rates.

The previous layoffs:

This will be the third round of layoffs by Meta since September last year. In September 2022, the company decided to sack 11,000 employees. Following that, the tech giant also announced to lay off 10,000 employees in March this year.