By Jack Mendel
Facebook owner Meta will sack 10,000 of its staff and close 5,000 vacancies as the tech sector continues to slim down in a bid to cut losses.
In apost on facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement, saying it was being done with a view to both helping it “improve our financial performance” and making it a “better tech company”.
The radical action is being taken as advertising revenue was hit hard last year, with 11,000 jobs including roughly 600 being cut in the UK.
Zuckerberg recognised the changes “creates uncertainty and stress” but that making the changes now would allow more long term growth.
“We expect to reduce our team size by around 10,000 people and to close around 5,000 additional open roles that we haven’t yet hired”, he said.
In recent months, Twitter, Facebook’s owner Meta, Microsoft and Google have all slashed tech jobs.
There have been concerns raised about both data privacy at Meta and the allowance of hate speech, with former president Donald Trump allowed back on the site. Meta recently said it was looking into paid-for verification, in a move that mirrors Elon Musk-owned Twitter.
He said it would “be tough and there’s no way around that. It will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues”, and that after restructuring “we plan to lift hiring and transfer freezes in each group. “
“We also aim to have a steady stream of developer productivity enhancements and process improvements throughout the year.”
Meta, which also owns Whatsapp and Instagram, said the November headcount cut had improved outcomes. “Since we reduced our workforce last year, one surprising result is that many things have gone faster. In retrospect, I underestimated the indirect costs of lower priority projects.”
“A leaner org will execute its highest priorities faster. People will be more productive, and their work will be more fun and fulfilling.”
Meta UK has been asked how many jobs will be cut in Britain.
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