Meta Platforms Commences Final Phase Of Layoffs, Eliminating 10,000 Positions As Planned

Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) commenced the final phase of its three-part round of layoffs on Wednesday, as confirmed by a reliable source. This move aligns with the company's plan, announced in March, to eliminate a total of 10,000 positions.

Notably, earlier this year, Meta made headlines by becoming the first Big Tech firm to initiate a second wave of significant job cuts, resulting in over 11,000 employees being let go during the previous autumn. These reductions brought Meta's workforce back to a level similar to its size in mid-2021, following a period of rapid expansion that had doubled its staff since 2020.

Several employees from marketing, recruiting, engineering, and corporate relations announced their dismissal on LinkedIn on Wednesday.

In a generally lower market, Meta shares were up 0.5%. Because of the cost-cutting drive and Meta's concentration on artificial intelligence, they have more than doubled in value this year and are among the top performers in the S&P 500 index (.SPX).

In March, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the majority of the layoffs in the company's second wave will occur in three "moments" across several months, with the majority of them wrapping up in May. He suggested that some smaller rounds could follow.

Overall, non-engineering roles have been struck the most, emphasising the importance of individuals who develop code at Meta. In March, Zuckerberg promised to "substantially" overhaul business teams and return to a "more optimal ratio of engineers to other roles."

Even among cuts aimed primarily at technology teams, the corporation slashed non-engineering roles like content design and user experience research the most harshly, according to executives speaking at a company town hall thereafter.

Approximately 4,000 employees were laid go in April, according to Zuckerberg, following a lesser impact to recruiting teams in March.

The social network business announced on Wednesday that the new layoffs would affect approximately 490 people at its international headquarters in Dublin, or over 20% of its Irish workforce.

The layoffs at Meta came after months of slowing revenue growth due to high inflation and a digital ad withdrawal from the pandemic e-commerce boom.

In addition, the corporation has been pouring billions of dollars into its metaverse-focused Reality Labs unit, which lost $13.7 billion in 2022, as well as an effort to revamp its infrastructure to enable artificial intelligence development.