Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly known as Facebook) has commenced the last phase of a three-part series of layoffs, according to an insider familiar with the matter. The move is part of a restructuring plan, previously announced in March, and aims to eliminate 10,000 positions within the company.
Earlier this year, Meta became the first major technology company to announce a second wave of significant job cuts, after letting go of over 11,000 employees in the previous autumn. These reductions have brought the company’s workforce back to its mid-2021 levels, following a period of rapid expansion that doubled its personnel since 2020.
On Wednesday, May 24, several employees from various departments such as marketing, recruiting, engineering, and corporate communications took to LinkedIn to share that they had been laid off.
Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, had already stated back in March 2023, that the majority of the layoffs in the second round would occur in three phases, spread out over several months, with most of them expected to conclude in May. Smaller rounds of cuts may follow thereafter.
Non-engineering roles have been predominantly affected by the layoffs, underscoring the company’s emphasis on coding expertise at Meta. Zuckerberg pledged to significantly restructure business teams and establish a more balanced ratio of engineers to other roles.
Even within the technology teams, non-engineering positions such as content design and user experience research were eliminated to a greater extent, as revealed by executives in a company town hall meeting.
During the town hall, Zuckerberg confirmed that approximately 4,000 employees were laid off in April, following a smaller reduction in recruiting teams in March.
On Wednesday, Meta announced that the latest cuts would likely impact around 490 employees at its international headquarters in Dublin, constituting nearly 20% of its Irish workforce.
Meta’s decision to downsize comes in the wake of declining revenue growth over the past few months, primarily due to high inflation and reduced digital advertising during the e-commerce boom prompted by the pandemic.
