Meta axes jobs at Instagram and WhatsApp
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is reportedly laying off workers in an attempt to conserve and better distribute resources to priority projects.
Image by Getty/Bloomberg
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is reportedly laying off workers in an attempt to conserve and better distribute resources to priority projects.
A new report from The Verge, based on anonymous sources familiar with the matter, claims that the layoffs will affect workers at WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs.
Meta has roughly 70,000 employees under its umbrella company. It’s still unclear how many are being let go.
One employee hit by the layoffs took to X to express their feelings about the situation. Jane Machun Wong joined Meta to work on Threads, Instagram’s version of Twitter, in 2023.
In a post on X that garnered almost 350,000 views, she expressed that her position has been affected by the latest round of layoffs.
“Still trying to process this, but my role at Meta has been impacted. Thank you to everyone for my wild journey at Meta. If anyone is interested in working together on software/security, please reach out via my email or LinkedIn,” Wong wrote.
Still trying to process this but my role at Meta has been impacted. Thank you to everyone for my wild journey at Meta
undefined Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 16, 2024
If anyone is interested in working together on software/security, please reach out via my email / LinkedIn noted on my website
🫡
According to The Verge, the latest wave of layoffs has happened alongside the reorganization of particular departments within the company.
While some roles were impacted, others weren’t. A Meta spokesperson told Tech Crunch that Threads recruiting and legal departments weren’t affected.
A former employee who spoke to Tech Crunch explained that certain employees were offered different positions and new contracts under Meta. Alternatively, they would be entitled to a severance package if they chose to decline the offer.
A Meta spokesperson told Cybernews that "Today, a few teams at Meta are making changes to ensure resources are aligned with their long-term strategic goals and location strategy. This includes moving some teams to different locations, and moving some employees to different roles. In situations like this when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees."
Meta seems to be following a growing trend among tech companies, with 2024 shaping up as the year of tech employee cuts.
In 2022, the company released 11,000 employees, and last year, the total number of workers who were let go reached more than 30,000.
Meta also cut a further 20,000 employees in 2023 and was looking to cut many vice presidents in June 2024.
According to Layoff.fyi, a layoff tracking website, there have been roughly 140,000 cuts across 470 tech companies so far in 2024. This has come from companies like Meta, TikTok, Microsoft, Spotify, PayPal, Google, and hundreds more.
Cybernews has previously reported on tech companies reducing or expected to cut workers in the name of efficiency.
According to investment bank Morgan Stanley, e-commerce giant Amazon might soon eliminate nearly 14,000 manager roles to save billions of dollars.
After reported losses of $1.6 billion, the chip maker Intel also decided to downsize by roughly 15,000 employees.
As Meta enters permanent efficiency mode, it’s unclear whether harsher layoffs will occur towards the end of the year or more restructuring will take place.