In addition to targeting managers, the company is also considering more traditional cuts, including cutting some projects and jobs, the person said. These efforts, which target divisions across the company and around the world, may not happen in a single day, but will likely roll out across the company in the months ahead.
Meta spokesman Dave Arnold declined to comment, but directed The Washington Post to Zuckerberg’s previous public comments in which he said the company needed to become more efficient.
“We closed last year with tough layoffs and some team restructuring,” Zuckerberg told investors earlier this month. “When we did that, I made it clear that it was the start of our goal of efficiency and not the end.”
The job cuts come after Zuckerberg sought to reassure workers that he had “no plans for further layoffs” after the company cut 11,000 jobs – about 13% of its workforce – in November. At the time, Zuckerberg told the remaining employees that the company had made a substantial reduction to “minimize the risks of having to carry out broad layoffs like this for the foreseeable future”, according to a recording of the company. company-wide meeting reviewed by The Washington Post.
“Obviously I can’t stay here and promise you that nothing will happen in the future because it’s a very unstable environment,” he added. “But what I can say is that for where we are right now, that’s what I’m anticipating.”
But earlier this month, Zuckerberg proclaimed 2023 “the year of efficiency,” promising investors he would cut middle managers and speed up corporate decision-making, hinting at the possibility of new cuts.
Meta-frameworks evaluate the cheapest way to accomplish the most needed tasks, the person said. The cuts are expected to disproportionately affect workers in non-engineering roles, they added, and leaders will use a wide range of factors including performance reviews, job duties and compensation to identify places to cut. .
In addition to downsizing, Meta has also reshuffled its top leadership. Earlier this month, Meta’s chief commercial officer, Marne Levine, announced she was leaving the company after 13 years. The company said vice presidents Nicola Mendelsohn and Justin Osofsky will take on expanded roles overseeing Meta’s advertising and sales divisions. They report to chief operating officer Javier Olivan, who assumed the role following the departure last year of former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.
Meta’s latest efforts to cut costs are part of a larger wave of tech companies that have cut jobs in recent months. Last month, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announced it was cutting 12,000 jobs, or about 6% of its workforce. Microsoft also recently announced it was cutting 10,000 employees while Amazon said it was cutting 18,000 workers. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post).
Meta’s advertising-based business has been hit particularly hard by a steady stream of economic challenges. Some digital advertisers cut spending as inflation continued to create market instability, while the company overestimated the future growth of the e-commerce market. Meta also took a hit when Apple introduced new privacy restrictions that forced app makers to explicitly ask users to track their online activity, hurting the social media giant’s ability to offer apps. targeted advertisements.
Meta is also increasingly fending off competition for marketing dollars and users from upstart social media rivals, such as the abbreviated video network TikTok. Last year, the company reported that Facebook’s flagship app had lost daily users for the first time in its 18-year history, although user growth has since recovered. Earlier this month, Meta recorded its third straight quarterly decline in revenue in the final months of 2022.
On Sunday, Zuckerberg unveiled a new subscription service, asking users to pay $11.99 or $14.99 per month to have their accounts verified and gain access to customer support. The company plans to roll out the service in Australia and New Zealand this week.
Meanwhile, Meta’s long-term bet to build immersive digital worlds known as the metaverse is still losing money. The social media giant said last year that it expects Reality Labs, the in-house division overseeing its VR-powered devices such as its Quest headsets, to lose more money this year than the company. last year. Meta will face stiff competition with Apple’s announced upcoming release of a rival headset.