Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram may lay off about 12,000 employees this week.
The lay off which represents about 15 percent of the company’s workforce is to cut down costs amid the looming recession. Last week, Meta announced it will halt the hiring process and subsequently restructure the company.
Additionally, according to the report published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the layoff could begin on Wednesday. If that happens, Meta will be joining a growing list of tech companies which include Twitter, Intel, and Microsoft that have retrenched thousands of employees.
Investors King learnt that CEO, Mark Zuckerberg had hinted about the mass layoff during the company’s earnings call in October. He identifies the need to have a reduced workforce as the company intends to focus on a small number of high-priority growth areas.
“In aggregate, we expect to end 2023 as either roughly the same size or even a slightly smaller organisation than we are today,” he noted.
It will be recalled that Mark has faced a lot of backlash from Meta investors who have showcased worry about the company’s large size and humongous investment in “Metaverse” which they consider imaginary.
Mark Zuckerberg has invested billions of dollars in his metaverse dream which he opined will succeed the mobile internet.
In a recent interview with Verge Magazine, Mark noted that in the next five years, he wants people to think of Facebook as a “metaverse company” not as a social media company.
Metaverse is a virtual reality platform where users can connect and enjoy near-life experiences with the use of 3D. Metaverse aims to mimic the physical world through technology.
In a bid to drive his dream, Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta. However, his metaverse adventure has not been yielding the desired results despite the huge investment.
Therefore, some of the company’s investors understand Metaverse to be a distraction to the company’s overall goal. Currently, Meta is facing a tough time with its stock price losing about $67 billion in value.
