Mark Zuckerberg confirms Meta to lay off 11,000 employees, will pay 4 months of severance
After weeks of speculation, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced massive layoff at Meta. The company, which runs Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, is letting go of 11,000 employees, or around 13 per cent of total headcount.
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FollowMark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta, on Wednesday confirmed the layoffs by the company. He said the business had made the decision to lay off more than 11,000 workers in order to cut the size of its workforce by around 13%.
In a letter to employees, Zuckerberg said, "Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history. I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go." He further said that the company will also be taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1.
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CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement to staff, "We will provide 16 weeks of basic salary plus two additional weeks for every year of service, with no maximum." The cost of healthcare for employees and their families for six months, he added, will be covered by the firm, along with any leftover PTO (Paid Time Off) time.
"With an outside vendor, "we'll offer three months of career guidance, including early access to unpublished employment leads," he added.
The business provided affected employees with immigration help as well. He further wrote: "I know this is especially difficult if you’re here on a visa. There’s a notice period before termination and some visa grace periods, which means everyone will have time to make plans and work through their immigration status."
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The cost-cutting strategy of Meta was implemented in response to Meta's underwhelming results and declining sales. The staff reductions, which are a part of the first significant budget cut since Facebook's founding in 2004, are due to a sharp decline in digital advertising revenue, an economy that is teetering on the verge of recession, and Zuckerberg's significant investment in the metaverse, a speculative effort in virtual reality.
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