Meta begins another round of mass layoffs

Various media outlets around the world reported that Meta has begun another round of mass layoffs.

According to these sources, such as the American station CNBC and the Reuters news agency, this will be the third and final wave of layoffs in the company.

In the first two rounds, which took place between November 2022 and early May 2023, Mark Zuckerberg’s company laid off more than 21,000 people.

Now, the goal of the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is to separate employees from subsidiaries.

Once again, Meta justified the wave of layoffs as part of a major contingency and cost-cutting plan in its so-called “efficiency year.”

“Which [o plano de contingência] It will be in service of building a more agile environment, a more technical company, and improving our business performance, to allow for our long-term vision,” said Mark Zuckerberg, commenting on the layoffs.

“I understand that this update may seem surprising, so I’d like to provide a broader context around our vision, culture and operating philosophy,” the businessman added.

A few hours after the first news of Meta’s third wave of layoffs broke, dozens of company employees began announcing that they had received emails confirming their resignation.

Despite the rhetoric, the Meta reports positive numbers

Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives announced that the job cuts the company implemented were ultimately prompted by an alleged crisis in the digital advertising market.

This crisis would have affected the company’s revenues, which in turn created the need for a strategic internal reorganization.

However, in early April, Meta released its balance sheet for the first quarter of 2023, which indicated a 3% surplus over the previous quarter.

In the same period of 2022, the company generated about $27.91 billion. After that, it suffered three-quarters of declining revenue.

On the other hand, the owner of Facebook is investing heavily in Metaverso and products based on virtual reality and augmented reality.

Moreover, Meta shares on the US Stock Exchange grew 180% between November 2022, when the first wave of layoffs was announced, and May 2023, while the third major series of layoffs is underway.

Last year, the company’s stock was valued at $89. Currently, each share is trading for just over $246 in the Dow Jones index.