Meta: 'Thousands' more to be laid off

All part of Zuckerberg's 'Year of efficiency'

Amid falling advertising revenue, Facebook parent Meta intends to carry out another round of layoffs that could impact thousands of employees, Bloomberg News claims.

As per insiders cited by Bloomberg, Meta has ordered directors and vice presidents to compile lists of workers who could be let go.

Job cuts could begin this week, adding to the 13% of Meta's workforce already let go in November, as part of a significant cost-cutting measure.

Meta has been attempting to streamline its structure by providing buyout packages to managers and cutting entire teams that it considers nonessential.

Sources told Bloomberg that the forthcoming round of job cuts is motivated by financial goals and is distinct from the "flattening" effort - a drive to cut middle management and adopt a flatter company structure, all part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's "year of efficiency."

The initial round of layoffs could be completed within the next week, before Zuckerberg goes on parental leave for the birth of his third child.

Insiders have told Bloomberg Meta employees are - unsurprisingly - suffering from elevated anxiety and decreased morale.

Some workers have expressed concern about losing their jobs before the distribution of their bonuses, scheduled for this month.

Job cuts = efficiency?

Last month, the Washington Post said Meta was preparing for a new round of job cuts that would impact multiple divisions worldwide.

The report claimed Meta planned to move some of its leaders into non-management roles, cutting the layers between Zuckerberg and other employees.

Even earlier, reports emerged that Meta had deliberately given significant numbers of employees "subpar" ratings in performance evaluations.

The intentional low ratings were interpreted as a sign the company was getting ready for more job cuts in the near future.

Last month, Zuckerberg announced that 2023 would be a "year of efficiency" for Meta.

"We closed last year with some difficult layoffs and restructuring some teams. When we did this, I said clearly that this was the beginning of our focus on efficiency and not the end. Since then, we've taken some additional steps like working with our infrastructure team on how to deliver our roadmap while spending less on capex."

He vowed to eliminate middle management positions and accelerate the company's decision-making procedures, intending to streamline operations and boost productivity.

As the economic slowdown began to bite, Meta investors voiced frustrations with the company's finances, such as its high headcount and annual $10 billion investment in the metaverse.

Feeling the pinch

Meta's business, which heavily relies on advertising, has been affected by a series of changes to advertising models, like Apple's App Tracking Transparency.

Meta reported a decline in fourth-quarter profits and revenue last month.

In the last quarter of 2022, Meta's net income was $4.7 billion, a 55% drop from $10.3 billion last year.

It anticipates expenses for 2023 to be between $89 billion and $95 billion.

Meanwhile, the firm remains committed to its investment in metaverse efforts, which it views as the next era of mainstream computing.

In the fourth quarter the company's Reality Labs division, responsible for developing the VR and AR technologies required for metaverse success, generated $727 million in revenue.

However, it reported an operating loss of $4.3 billion during the same period.