Meta sacks another 4000 workers

CNBC reported on Wednesday that employees with technical backgrounds such as user experience, software engineering, graphics programming, as well as gameplay engineers working on MetaVerse virtual reality products, had been posting on social media about being laid off.

“I woke up this morning to the unfortunate news that I was one of the many laid off from Meta today,” one Facebook business program manager wrote on LinkedIn.

“While I am certainly disappointed, I’m also feeling extremely grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside some of the most talented individuals for almost three years!”

Meta announced in March it planned to lay off around 10,000 more employees as part of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s cost-cutting push.

That expansion of its restructuring efforts came after 11,000 job cuts announced last November, bringing the total to 21,000.

In February, Mr Zuckerberg proclaimed 2023 as Meta’s “year of efficiency” and hinted that more staff cuts were likely.

He later indicated that the April cuts would target technical workers, with business groups to follow in late May.

Meta anticipates restructuring costs of approximately $US3 billion ($A4.47 billion) to $US5 billion ($A7.46 billion) related to facilities consolidation charges, severance and other personnel costs.

Mr Zuckerberg has admitted that the company hired too aggressively during the pandemic-era boom in tech valuations.

The company’s worst year on record was in 2022, as it struggled to navigate a troubled shift towards costly metaverse technology despite sagging revenue and worsening economic conditions.

In his February memo, Mr Zuckerberg acknowledged that employees might be surprised by the latest cost-cutting announcement but warned that “this new economic reality will continue for many years” due to factors such as higher interest rates, geopolitical instability and increased regulation.

CNBC noted Wall Street has reacted favourably to the downsizing, with Meta shares soaring 81 per cent this year after losing about two-thirds of their value last year.

Meta has posted declining revenue for three straight quarters amid an online ad sales slump, and it expected to report another revenue drop at its first-quarter earnings next week.

– with New York Post