Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms plans to lay off about 5% of its workforce, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg warning of an “intense” year ahead.
Meta had roughly 72,000 people, so a 5% reduction would mean a loss of 3,600 jobs.
Zuckerberg communicated his plans in a memo to employees, which was first reported by Bloomberg. A Meta rep confirmed details of the memo to Deadline.
“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” the exec wrote. The year will be “intense,” he predicted, given the company’s efforts in AI, smart glasses and its mainstay social media business.
It has already been a newsy 2025 for the tech giant, with Zuckerberg ending the company’s fact-checking efforts and naming UFC head Dana White to the board of directors earlier this month. Meta also updated its policy on “hateful conduct,” with users’ discussion of immigrants, women and transgender and nonbinary people graded on more of a curve.
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The moves are seen as the latest indications of Zuckerberg’s interest in currying favor with President-elect Donald Trump, whose inauguration next Monday he plans to attend. Many conservatives have insisted for years that Meta and other tech giants have been biased against their point of view, arguing that content moderation efforts amount to censorship.
The post Facebook Parent Meta Platforms To Lay Off 5% Of Staff; CEO Mark Zuckerberg Warns Of “Intense” Year Ahead appeared first on Deadline.
