Facebook parent Meta preparing for fresh round of job cuts: Report

SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms is planning a fresh round of job cuts in a reorganisation and downsizing effort that could affect thousands of workers, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last year, the social media giant said it would

let go 13 per cent of its workforce,

or more than 11,000 employees, as it grappled with soaring costs and a weak advertising market.

Meta plans to push some leaders into lower-level roles without direct reports, flattening the layers of management between top boss Mark Zuckerberg and the company’s interns, the Washington Post reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Last year’s layoffs were the first in Meta’s 18-year history. Other technology companies have cut thousands of jobs, including Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Snap.

Meta aggressively hired during the pandemic to meet a surge in social media usage by stuck-at-home consumers. But business suffered in 2022 as advertisers and consumers pulled the plug on spending in the face of soaring costs and rapidly rising interest rates.

Meta, once worth more than US$1 trillion (S$1.34 trillion), is now valued at US$446 billion. Its shares lost 1.2 per cent on Wednesday.

Last year, the company said it would reduce office space, lower discretionary spending and extend a hiring freeze into 2023 to rein in expenses.

More than 100,000 layoffs were announced at companies in the United States in January, led by tech firms, according to a report from employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
REUTERS