Meta, the parent company of social media giants Facebook and Instagram, as well as messaging app WhatsApp, is set to lay off around 10,000 more employees and close 5,000 open positions that it hasn’t yet filled, following the massive layoff of 11,000 staff in November of last year.
According to an official update on Meta’s “Year of Efficiency,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg has stated that the company’s restructuring plans will focus on flattening its organisations, canceling lower priority projects, and reducing its hiring rates in order to improve its financial performance and execute its long-term vision. This will take place over the next few months, with restructuring and layoffs being announced in the tech groups in late April, and the business groups in May. Although in some cases, the changes may not be fully implemented until the end of the year.
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Reducing the number of employees and open roles will undoubtedly be challenging. In a statement, Zuckerberg expressed his gratitude for the talented and passionate colleagues who will be leaving, acknowledging their dedication to the company’s mission. Meta will offer support to those affected by the layoffs and treat them with the respect they deserve.
Once the restructuring process is completed, Meta plans to lift hiring and transfer freezes in each group. It will also continue to focus on increasing efficiency throughout the company, with the goal of improving business performance and enabling its long-term vision.
To achieve these goals, Meta is implementing a flatter organizational structure by removing multiple layers of management. Managers will become “individual contributors,” and these contributors will report to almost every level, creating a faster flow of information between employees and management. The company is still committed to managing each person effectively, and each manager will have no more than 10 direct reports to ensure that capacity is fully utilized.
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Zuckerberg has explained that a leaner organization will enable the company to execute its highest priorities faster, resulting in increased productivity and a more fulfilling work environment. The company will also be investing in tools to make it more effective over time, including AI tools to help engineers write better code, automation of workloads, and identification of obsolete processes that can be phased out.
This news comes after Meta fired 11,000 people in November 2022, which was about 13% of the company’s global staff. The company has also taken other steps to become leaner and more efficient, such as cutting spending on non-essentials and keeping its hiring freeze in place until the first quarter of next year.
In conclusion, Meta’s restructuring plans aim to create a leaner, more efficient organisation that can execute its highest priorities faster, resulting in increased productivity and a more fulfilling work environment. The company will focus on flattening its organisational structure, cancelling lower priority projects, and reducing its hiring rates. Although the layoffs will be tough, Meta will offer support to those affected and treat them with the respect they deserve.
