Meta Platforms Inc Begins To Carry Out The Last Series Of Layoffs In The Context Of Reduction Of 10,000 Jobs

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to do massive layoffs. (photo: Instagram @zuck)

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms Inc. has started a series of recent layoffs (PHK) in three stages on Wednesday, May 24, according to sources familiar with the matter. This was done as part of a plan announced in March to eliminate 10,000 roles.

In March, Meta became the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs, having laid off more than 11,000 employees in the fall. The cuts reduced the number of company employees to around the same position in mid-2021, after massive signings that doubled the number of workers since 2020.

Some employees used platforms like LinkedIn on Wednesday to announce that they were laid off in rounds that are expected to greatly affect advertising sales teams, marketing, and partners.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in March that most of the layoffs in the company's second round will be carried out in three "moments" over several months, with most ending in May. He said that some small rounds might continue after that.

Overall, the cuts have the most impact on outside engineering, which reinforces the importance of those writing code on Meta. Zuckerberg promised in March to change the structure of the business team "significantly" and return to a "more optimal ratio between engineers and other roles."

Even among the cuts specifically aimed at tech teams, companies eliminate roles outside engineering such as content design and user experience research to be the hardest, according to executives speaking at internal company meetings.

Zuckerberg said at the meeting that some 4,000 employees lost their jobs in April layoffs, following smaller cuts to the recruitment team in March.

Meta's layoffs followed months of slowing revenue growth due to high inflation and a drop in digital advertising after an e-commerce boom during the pandemic.

The company has also disbursed billions of dollars to metaverse-oriented Reality Labs units, which suffered a loss of USD 13.7 billion (IDR 204 trillion) in 2022, and projects to strengthen its infrastructure to support artificial intelligence work.