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This Wednesday is a particularly difficult hump day for those who fell victim to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s overestimation of the e-commerce boom and how many people would care for the metaverse. And it’s not because the in-office coffee is bad or meal-prepping leftovers has gotten tired; instead layoffs are continuing, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg. Telling managers to brace for announcements today, Zuckerberg’s memo said Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs will be in the firing line.
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Meta is far from the only company in Silicon Valley to issue mass layoffs during the past year, but as each CEO takes a turn at letting go of workers, they’ve all found their own grooves. In vogue is the remote layoff, though some leaders like Elon Musk will send an email late at night, and others like Zuckerberg will hold a stilted Zoom meeting. Either way, even if executives think these layoffs make them look badass, they largely just end up ineffective when it comes to the costs supposedly saved, workplace experts say.
This is far from Zuckerberg’s maiden voyage when it comes to layoffs. In November, the CEO cut 11,000 positions, effectively making 13% of his workforce walk the plank of the good ship Meta, which has sprung a few leaks of late. During March, he cautioned that there were more to come, specifically setting out plans to lay off 10,000 workers, and to implement a hiring freeze as the cherry on top. According to Bloomberg, this Wednesday is just part of that 10,000, and another round is expected in May.
It’s all part of Zuckerberg’s “Year of Efficiency,” which he has manifested for Meta’s 2023. On its face, this involves eliminating projects that aren’t performing or may no longer be as crucial in favor of focusing on increasing efficiency within essential projects, but what it looks like beneath the surface is giant cuts to the workforce. When he announced Meta’s massive layoff wave in November 2022, Zuckerberg joined the likes of Elon Musk, who famously sacked half of Twitter soon after overpaying by about $20 billion for the social media firm. Musk’s attempt to be seen as a cutthroat CEO has yet to lead to actual success as the company with dwindling staff has reported woes such as outages and glitches.