Zuckerberg confirms 10,000 more Meta employees will be laid off

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed the company plans to lose 10,000 employees and close 5,000 open positions in another round of cost-cutting measures.

Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, terminated 11,000 of its employees as recently as November, which constituted 13% of its workforce at the time.

The new wave of layoffs is said to impact Meta’s recruitment teams first, then its tech and business groups in the following months.

Zuckerberg cited higher interest rates, increased regulation and geopolitical instability as contributing factors to the current “economic reality.”

Previously, the company said downturns in online advertising and competition from rival social platforms such as TikTok were contributing factors in the reduced earnings.

“This will be tough and there’s no way around that,” said Zuckerberg in a memo to employees.

“It will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues who have been part of our success.”

Zuckerberg did not mention the company’s investment into the ‘Metaverse’, an ambitious endeavour into virtual and augmented reality in which Meta invests more than $10 billion annually.

So far, the company has no plans to reduce funding for Metaverse projects.

Meta isn’t the only tech giant turning to mass layoffs.

Since the start of 2022, the tech industry has cut nearly approximately 290,000 employees globally.

This figure includes significant numbers from Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

“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,” said Zuckerberg.

Last month, Zuckerberg’s budget for personal security was increased by 40% to $14 million, which the company deemed “appropriate and necessary under the circumstances.”