Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is set to reduce its workforce by 5%, targeting its lowest-performing employees.
This move marks the latest in a series of strategic changes aimed at refining the company’s operations and preparing for a challenging year ahead.
In an internal memo posted to Meta’s Workplace forum, CEO Mark Zuckerberg informed employees about the decision to accelerate the removal of low performers from the company.
“Meta is working on building some of the most important technologies in the world. AI, glasses as the next computing platform, and the future of social media. This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams,” Zuckerberg wrote.
The decision comes as part of a broader effort to streamline Meta’s workforce and focus on top performers.
Zuckerberg emphasized that the company plans to “raise the bar on performance management” and accelerate the process of moving out low performers. He stated that, while the company typically manages underperforming employees over the course of a year, this time they would be making more extensive, performance-based cuts during this cycle.
“We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle, with the intention of backfilling these roles in 2025,” Zuckerberg said.
Details of the layoffs
Meta, which currently employs over 72,000 people, confirmed that employees affected by the layoffs will be notified by February 10, 2025. Those who are laid off will receive severance in line with previous company policies.
- In a separate communication, Meta clarified that it would be “exiting approximately 5% of our lowest performers.” The company has yet to provide specifics on how many employees will be impacted, but this reduction will be a substantial one, affecting thousands of workers across various departments.
- Zuckerberg reassured employees that those who are let go will receive generous severance packages.
“We won’t manage out everyone who didn’t meet expectations for the last period if we’re optimistic about their future performance, and for those we do let go, we’ll provide generous severance in line with what we provided with previous cuts,” he stated.
What you should know
Last week, Zuckerberg announced the company’s decision to end its third-party fact-checking program and shift to a “Community Notes” model, which allows individual users to provide context to posts, similar to the model used by Elon Musk’s platform X (formerly Twitter).
In another major development, Meta Platforms Inc. has expanded its board of directors with the appointment of Dana White, President and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), John Elkann, CEO of Exor, and Charlie Songhurst, a tech investor and AI advisor, bringing the board’s total membership to 13.
Dana White, known for transforming the UFC into a global sports empire, shares a personal bond with Zuckerberg through their shared interest in mixed martial arts (MMA). John Elkann and Charlie Songhurst bring significant expertise to Meta’s leadership. Elkann leads Exor, a holding company overseeing brands like Jeep and Ferrari, while Songhurst, a former Microsoft executive, has been advising Meta on artificial intelligence.
