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Facebook parent company Meta to cut further 10,000 jobs

March 14, 2023

The social media giant is making another round of mass layoffs as it seeks to reduce costs. The company has sunk billions into its metaverse venture.

https://p.dw.com/p/4OfNh
A man walks past the Meta logo carrying an umbrella
Meta has announced several rounds of layoffs after posting financial losses last yearImage: Arnd Wiegmann/REUTERS

Facebook parent Meta is cutting another 10,000 jobs, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in an email to employees on Tuesday.

Another 5,000 open positions would also remain unfilled, the tech giant said.

The mass axing of staff comes after a previous round of cuts that saw 11,000 jobs culled in November.

Zuckerberg called 2023 a "year of efficiency," saying Meta was planning on reducing costs by about $5 billion (€4.67 billion), down to $89-$95 billion.

What did Mark Zuckerberg say about the job cuts?

"This will be tough, and there's no way around that," Zuckerberg said. "It will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues who have been part of our success."

"As I've talked about efficiency this year, I've said that part of our work will involve removing jobs — and that will be in service of both building a leaner, more technical company and improving our business performance to enable our long-term vision," he added.

Big Tech struggling from China to Silicon Valley

The job cuts will first target Meta's recruitment team, with further cuts hitting the company's tech groups in late April and its business groups in late May.

Meta shares rose by 6% in early trading as news of the cuts was made public.

Tech companies cutting back across the board

The Meta company — which owns social media platforms Facebook and Instagram as well as messenger service WhatsApp — has invested billions in shifting its efforts toward developing an online platform that takes advantage of 3D technology.

But the project has become an investment sink, with billions already having been lost on the venture.

In February, Meta posted lower fourth-quarter profit and revenue, sparked by a downturn in the online advertising market and competition from rivals including TikTok.

What is the metaverse?

Meta is not the only major US tech company to be cutting back on jobs. Rival social media platform Twitter has also made considerable cutbacks following the takeover by billionaire Elon Musk.

Online retail giant Amazon also put construction of its second headquarters in Virginia on hold last month after the biggest round of layoffs in the company's history.

The vast job cuts in the tech industry come after many companies bloated their payrolls during the coronavirus pandemic to meet the sudden surge in demand for online services.

sdi,ab/ar (AP, AFP, Reuters)