Meta is set to fire over 3,600 workers found to be underperforming and replace them with fresh personnel, according to an internal document released on Tuesday.
The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, confirmed to the media that CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision will affect five per cent of its workforce.
As of September 2024, Meta’s staff strength stands at 72,400 people.
“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” Zuckerberg said.
The CEO said the performance-based cuts are intended to ensure that the company has the “strongest talent” and can “bring new people in.”
Recall that Performance-based dismissals are a common practice among major US corporations.
Last week, Microsoft revealed that less than 1% of its employees would be affected by comparable layoffs.
The layoffs come amid broader changes at Meta, in advance of Donald Trump returning to the White House on January 20.
Zuckerberg has recently aligned more closely with conservative ideas and political figures, including having dinner meetings with Trump and nominating a Republican as Meta’s head of public affairs.
Last week, Zuckerberg announced the end of the company’s US fact-checking program that aimed to combat misinformation on its platforms.
The program had faced criticism from conservative voices who viewed it as censorship.
Under the new system, users will be able to add context to posts, similar to features on X, formerly Twitter, and championed by Elon Musk, the platform’s owner.
The company has also scaled back its diversity initiatives and relaxed content moderation rules on Facebook and Instagram, particularly regarding certain forms of hostile speech.
Meta Platforms revenue for the twelve months ending September 30, 2024, was $156.227B, a 23.06% increase year-over-year.
Also in the same year, Meta Platforms laid off approximately 10,000 employees, this was part of a broader restructuring effort, which followed a previous round of layoffs in 2022 where around 11,000 workers were let go.
These cuts were part of Meta’s cost-cutting measures as the company focused on efficiency and transitioning its strategy towards other new initiatives.
Meta Platforms has over 3.8 billion monthly active users across its family of apps.
This figure includes users of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and others.
Facebook alone has more than 2.9 billion monthly active users. These numbers reflect Meta’s vast global user base, which continues to grow despite challenges.
