On Wednesday, Meta Platforms Inc implemented another round of job cuts, affecting engineers and related tech teams, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to simplify the company’s operations in preparation for a more efficient 2023.
In March, Meta became the first big tech firm to announce a second wave of significant workforce reductions, which would be carried out in three phases over several months, resulting in 10,000 job losses.
The job cuts on Wednesday, while not surprising, elicited frustration from Meta staff. Layoffs dominated the most popular queries on the company’s internal forum on Wednesday, just before an upcoming employee town hall.
One of the questions said:
You’ve shattered the morale and confidence in leadership of many high performers who work with intensity. Why should we stay at Meta?
These questions allude to the remarks made by Zuckerberg in the past, in which he had encouraged employees to work with more “intensity” to tackle the business challenges of Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram.
When Reuters reached out for comment, the company declined to respond.
Meta’s initial layoffs in autumn affected over 11,000 employees, or approximately 13% of its staff at that time, and preceded several other major tech firms shedding thousands of workers following a pandemic-driven surge in digital advertising and cloud computing.
In addition to cutting staff, Meta is also shelving less important projects and streamlining its middle management layers.
The company’s downsizing efforts have been well-received by investors as well. Meta’s shares have soared by around 80% this year, surpassing the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite’s (.IXIC) 16% increase during the same period.
The company is anticipated to reap benefits from a slight rise in the digital advertising market and regulatory pressure on TikTok, its major competitor. Meta is scheduled to unveil its first-quarter results on April 26.
