Mark Zuckerberg Says Sorry After Facebook Parent Meta Sacks Over 11,000 Employees| Key Points

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the company will cut more than 11,000 jobs

Facebook News: What can be termed as one of the biggest tech layoffs in 2022, Meta Platforms Inc, the parent entity of social media platform Facebook, has fired over 11,000 employees, which is 13 percent of the company’s workforce. Facebook has also decided to extend the freezing it has imposed on new hiring,

“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted,” Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg said.

According to the reports, the decision is part of the plan to reduce costs at the social-media platform following disappointing earnings, soaring costs, and a weak advertising market. This is the first major round of layoffs at Meta and is being considered as the most drastic one since Facebook began in 2004.

Zuckerberg’s statement said that while workforce reductions will be across the board, divisions such as recruiting will be disproportionately affected and business teams too are being restructured.  The access of employees being laid off has also been revoked.

Facebook Fires 11,000 Employees: Key Updates

1. Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the company will cut more than 11,000 jobs
2. The reductions, equal to about 13% of the workforce, were disclosed Wednesday in a statement.
3. In his message to employees, Zuckerberg said that they are taking additional steps to become a leaner organisation by cutting discretionary spending as well as extending its hiring freeze till the end of Q1.
4. With these job cuts, Meta will join a slew of other tech firms that have announced layoffs and hiring freezes in response to rising inflation and macroeconomic headwinds.
5. Meta will pay 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for every year of service, with no cap.
6. Paid Time Off (PTO): Meta will be paying employees for all remaining PTO time.
7. Restricted Stock Units (RSU) Vesting: Everyone impacted will receive their November 15, 2022 vesting.
8. Health insurance: Meta will cover the cost of healthcare of sacked employees and families for six months.
9. Career services: Meta will provide three months of career support with an external vendor, including early access to unpublished job leads.
10. Immigration support: Those people who’re are on a visa (in the US), will be able to take advice from Meta’s immigration specialists who will guide them based on their needs.

Mark attributed the decision to lay people off to a significant increase in investments that had been made due to the pandemic. “…the surge of e-commerce led to outsized revenue growth. Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. I did too…,” he said, which turned out not to be the case.

“Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected. I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that,” he said.