Reducing Roles to Streamline Performance
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, plans to cut 5% of its global workforce. This decision will impact about 3,600 employees. The company intends to replace these roles later this year. CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the move as part of an effort to remove “low performers faster.”
In a memo to employees, Zuckerberg shared that he aims to accelerate Meta’s usual performance-based reviews. He anticipates a challenging year and wants the company to maintain strong teams. “This is going to be an intense year. I want only the best people on our teams,” he wrote.
Meta employs approximately 72,000 workers worldwide. However, the company has not detailed how these cuts will be distributed globally. Affected U.S. employees will learn their status by February 10. Employees in other countries will be notified at a later date.
Background on Meta’s Strategic Shifts
The upcoming job reductions follow Meta’s recent large-scale cuts in 2023 and 2022, which eliminated 10,000 and 11,000 positions, respectively. These earlier layoffs were part of a broader cost-cutting strategy dubbed the “year of efficiency.”
Zuckerberg also signaled other internal changes, such as ending Meta’s fact-checking and diversity initiatives. He described these shifts as steps to align the company’s priorities with current challenges and opportunities.
Performance-based cuts are a common practice in corporate America, but Meta usually spreads them over a year. This time, Zuckerberg said, the process is being expedited. Affected employees will receive “generous severance packages,” he added.
Zuckerberg’s recent public statements hint at a personal transformation. On a podcast with Joe Rogan, he discussed the need for more “masculine energy” in organizations. He also revealed his interest in martial arts, saying it helps him express himself more freely than his corporate role allows.
“When you’re running a company, people don’t expect you to act ruthlessly. But in fighting, it’s different,” he explained. “When people see me compete, they realize, ‘That’s the real Mark.’”
This wave of cuts and strategic shifts marks another pivotal moment in Meta’s evolution under Zuckerberg’s leadership.