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Meta to cut more than 11,000 jobs in one of biggest US layoffs this year
The broad job cuts, the first in Meta's 18-year history, follow thousands of layoffs at other major tech companies including Elon Musk-owned Twitter and Microsoft Corp.
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In this file photo taken on October 28, 2021, a pedestrian walks in front of a new logo and the name 'Meta' on the sign in front of Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. (AFP/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America)
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eta Platforms Inc said on Wednesday it will let go of 13 percent of its workforce, or more than 11,000 employees, in one of the biggest tech layoffs this year as the Facebook parent battles soaring costs and a weak advertising market.
The broad job cuts, the first in Meta's 18-year history, follow thousands of layoffs at other major tech companies including Elon Musk-owned Twitter and Microsoft Corp.
The pandemic boom that boosted tech companies and their valuations has turned into a bust this year in the face of decades-high inflation and rapidly rising interest rates.
Meta, whose shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value, said it also plans to cut discretionary spending and extend its hiring freeze through the first quarter.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the layoffs could impact "many thousands" of Meta employees and that an announcement was expected as soon as Wednesday.
As of September 30, Meta had about 87,000 employees worldwide across its different platforms, which include social media sites Facebook and Instagram as well as messaging platform Whatsapp.
In his announcement of Meta's disappointing third quarter results, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the firm's staff would not increase by the end of 2023, and might decrease slightly.
The latest plans from Meta follow recent announcements by other tech firms to freeze hiring or cut their workforce as the industry fights economic headwinds.
Last Thursday, Silicon Valley firms Stripe and Lyft announced large-scale layoffs while Amazon said it would freeze hiring in its corporate offices.
Twitter, freshly acquired by Elon Musk, abruptly fired about half of its 7,500 employees last week.
Ad-supported platforms such as Facebook and Alphabet's Google are suffering from advertisers' budget cuts as they struggle with inflation and rising interest rates.
