Mass layoffs at Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg may soon fire nearly 12,000 underperforming employees

Just a couple of months ago, during the last Meta earnings call, Zuckerberg said that the social media platform is freezing hiring across the board. Facebook isn’t the only tech company to have paused hiring.

As per a report coming from Insider publication, Meta is conducting ‘quiet layoffs’ at Facebook, which may lead to thousands of job cuts. While the company hasn’t revealed any specific details on the same yet, it is predicted that nearly 15 per cent of the company’s underperforming workforce will be fired. It is said that some senior executives are working towards executing quiet layoffs in the weeks to come. “It might look like they are moving on, but the reality is they are being forced out,” some Facebook employees said.

Well, this shouldn’t be quite shocking for employees since the company previously confirmed freezing hiring and hinted at layoffs in future. During the recent earnings call, the Meta CEO warned of layoffs in the future. “Our plan is to steadily reduce headcount growth over the next year. Many teams are going to shrink so we can shift energy to other areas,” Zuckerberg said during the earnings call.

The report further notes that Meta is currently reducing staff to cut costs amid the economic downturn. The company is reportedly putting some employees on traditional 30 to 60 days “lists”, either to find them a new role within the company or simply ask them to leave.

Earlier this year, amid the economic downturn and massive layoffs in the tech world, the Meta CEO said that the company’s plan is to steadily reduce headcount growth over the next year. Meanwhile, Google CEO Sundar Pichai asked employees to give their 100 per cent at work and be more productive than ever before. Several big tech companies, including Apple, Google and more, have announced freezing hiring amid the economic downturn.