According to sources acquainted with the situation, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has begun its final wave of layoffs, affecting around 6,000 people.
Meta announced its first big staff decreases in November, affecting around 11,000 people, accounting for roughly 13% of the overall workforce.
Following that, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated plans for a second round of large layoffs in March of this year, leading to another decrease of around 10,000 employees.
These current job losses are part of the second round of layoffs announced in March. Zuckerberg had stated that the layoffs will take place in three stages and would be completed by the end of May. As a result, Meta has already cut about 4,000 jobs in its IT section. The current round of layoffs is likely to cut the workforce by another 6,000 people.
Because of the increasing demand for digital services during the pandemic, Meta witnessed significant expansion in its staff. The company’s personnel count increased by 30% in 2020, and it will increase by another 23% in 2021.
Meta had a staff of more than 87,000 people when the layoffs began in November. Following the two big waves of layoffs, the company’s overall personnel count is expected to fall to around 66,000.
According to reports on Monday, Meta’s continuing round of layoffs would mostly target certain business divisions, such as advertising sales, marketing, and partnership teams. Some Meta workers have already gone to social media channels such as LinkedIn to express their experiences with the new round of layoffs.
Massive layoffs in the IT industry have far-reaching effects, affecting employees’ livelihoods and disrupting talent pools. They can stifle innovation, increase competition in the labor market and put downward pressure on wages. In the face of these obstacles, the resilience of the industry and the potential for entrepreneurial opportunities provide optimism for recovery and adaptation.