Meta To Lay Off 11 000 Employees As Zuckerberg Says He Is Responsible For Mistakes

  Facebook’s parent company Meta announced Wednesday that it is laying off 11,000 employees, marking the most significant job cuts in the tech giant’s history.   

  The job cuts come as Meta faces a number of challenges to its core business and makes an uncertain and costly gamble to pivot into the metaverse.  It also comes amid a flurry of layoffs at other tech companies in recent months as the high-flying industry reacts to high inflation, rising interest rates and fears of an impending recession.   

  “Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post to employees.  “I have decided to reduce the size of our team by approximately 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go.”   

  The job cuts will affect many corners of the company, but Meta’s recruiting team will be hit particularly hard as “we plan to hire fewer people next year,” Zuckerberg said in the post.  He added that the hiring freeze would be extended through the first quarter, with few exceptions.   

  In September, Meta had more than 87,000 employees, per a September SEC filing.   

  Meta’s core ad sales business has been hit by privacy changes implemented by Apple, advertisers tightening budgets and increased competition from newer competitors like TikTok.  Meanwhile, Meta has spent billions to create a future version of the Internet, dubbed the metaverse, which is likely years away from widespread acceptance.   

  Last month, the company reported its second quarterly decline in revenue and said its profit had halved from a year earlier.  Once valued at over $1 trillion last year, Meta’s market value has since sunk to around $250 billion.   

  “I want to take responsibility for these decisions and how we got here,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Wednesday.  “I know this is difficult for everyone and I am especially sorry for those affected.”   

  Meta shares rose 5% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the announcement.   

  Meta is not alone in feeling the pain of the market downturn.  The tech sector is facing a dizzying reality check as inflation, rising interest rates and most macroeconomic headwinds have led to a stunning shift in spending for an industry that has become more mainstream as consumers have shifted more of their lives online during the pandemic .   

  “At the start of Covid, the world moved quickly to the Internet and the boom in e-commerce led to excessive revenue growth,” Zuckerberg wrote on Wednesday.  “Many people predicted that this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended.  I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments.  Unfortunately, that didn’t turn out the way I expected.”   

  “I made a mistake and I take responsibility for it,” he added.   

  Meta’s headcount in September was almost double the 48,268 employees it had at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.   


  Also last week, Facebook rival Twitter announced mass layoffs affecting roles across the company as its new owner, Elon Musk, took the helm.   

  In addition to the layoffs, Zuckerberg said the company expects to “implement more cost-cutting changes” in the coming months.  Meta, which like other tech giants is known for its huge, perk-filled offices, is rethinking its real estate needs, he said, and “moving into office sharing for people who already spend most of their time outside the office ».   

  “Overall,” he said, “this will add a substantial cultural change to the way we operate.”   

title: “Meta To Lay Off 11 000 Employees As Zuckerberg Says He Is Responsible For Mistakes " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-23” author: “Carolyn Haught”

  Facebook’s parent company Meta announced Wednesday that it is laying off 11,000 employees, marking the most significant job cuts in the tech giant’s history.   

  The job cuts come as Meta faces a number of challenges to its core business and makes an uncertain and costly gamble to pivot into the metaverse.  It also comes amid a flurry of layoffs at other tech companies in recent months as the high-flying industry reacts to high inflation, rising interest rates and fears of an impending recession.   

  “Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post to employees.  “I have decided to reduce the size of our team by approximately 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go.”   

  The job cuts will affect many corners of the company, but Meta’s recruiting team will be hit particularly hard as “we plan to hire fewer people next year,” Zuckerberg said in the post.  He added that the hiring freeze would be extended through the first quarter, with few exceptions.   

  In September, Meta had more than 87,000 employees, per a September SEC filing.   

  Meta’s core ad sales business has been hit by privacy changes implemented by Apple, advertisers tightening budgets and increased competition from newer competitors like TikTok.  Meanwhile, Meta has spent billions to create a future version of the Internet, dubbed the metaverse, which is likely years away from widespread acceptance.   

  Last month, the company reported its second quarterly decline in revenue and said its profit had halved from a year earlier.  Once valued at over $1 trillion last year, Meta’s market value has since sunk to around $250 billion.   

  “I want to take responsibility for these decisions and how we got here,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Wednesday.  “I know this is difficult for everyone and I am especially sorry for those affected.”   

  Meta shares rose 5% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the announcement.   

  Meta is not alone in feeling the pain of the market downturn.  The tech sector is facing a dizzying reality check as inflation, rising interest rates and most macroeconomic headwinds have led to a stunning shift in spending for an industry that has become more mainstream as consumers have shifted more of their lives online during the pandemic .   

  “At the start of Covid, the world moved quickly to the Internet and the boom in e-commerce led to excessive revenue growth,” Zuckerberg wrote on Wednesday.  “Many people predicted that this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended.  I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments.  Unfortunately, that didn’t turn out the way I expected.”   

  “I made a mistake and I take responsibility for it,” he added.   

  Meta’s headcount in September was almost double the 48,268 employees it had at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.   


  Also last week, Facebook rival Twitter announced mass layoffs affecting roles across the company as its new owner, Elon Musk, took the helm.   

  In addition to the layoffs, Zuckerberg said the company expects to “implement more cost-cutting changes” in the coming months.  Meta, which like other tech giants is known for its huge, perk-filled offices, is rethinking its real estate needs, he said, and “moving into office sharing for people who already spend most of their time outside the office ».   

  “Overall,” he said, “this will add a substantial cultural change to the way we operate.”