According to three sources familiar with the matter, Meta
The sources didn't provide specific details about the number of staff or departments that will be affected, but the cuts are expected to take place by the end of the week, November 12.
While tech companies like Meta saw a massive boom in profits during the pandemic, recent earnings reports have executives and investors alike worried about the future. Advertising sales are down across the tech sector, and changes in Apple's privacy settings have also hurt mobile platforms' ability to target users with ads.
In its quarterly report, Meta showed a 50% decrease in profits since the previous period, and its sales have been declining for months. As a result, the company has been cutting back on its investment in new technologies, like the Metaverse. After pumping tens of billions of dollars into the project, Meta has yet to reach its goals for a consistent user base.
Along with the report, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also implied last month that layoffs could, saying that the company could end the year smaller than when it started. Since the year began, the tech CEO has been open about the company's financial struggles, telling workers that they would be expected to do more with less in 2022.
"I think some of you might decide that this place isn't for you, and that self-selection is OK with me," Zuckerberg said on a call with employees this summer. "Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn't be here."
At the end of September, Meta had over 87,000 employees, a 28% increase over last year.
On Friday, Nov. 4, the world's richest man, Elon Musk, announced that he would be laying off half of Twitter's staff in an effort to cut costs. That announcement came just days after Musk posted on Twitter denying claims that he planned to lay off Twitter staff.
