Meta to cut 5% of staff as Mark Zuckerberg targets ‘low performance’: memo

Meta is planning to cut roughly 5% of its staff this year in a move aimed at weeding out underperformers, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed on Tuesday.

In a memo to employees on Meta’s internal message board, Zuckerberg indicated that the company would hire new workers this year to replace departing employees.

The head of Facebook and Instagram – which has drawn backlash for removing fact-checking from its social media networks in a move seen as an attempt to ingratiate the company with the incoming Trump administration – said he expects an “intense year ” as the Meta pours more resources. in AI and other key projects.

“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and fire underperformers faster,” Zuckerberg said in the memo, which was first obtained by Bloomberg.

“We typically manage people who don’t meet expectations over the course of a year, but now we’ll be making broader performance-based cuts during this cycle,” Zuckerberg added.

Meta will “provide a generous severance” to affected workers, Zuckerberg added.

The company is expected to notify US-based workers affected by the cuts on February 10, following performance reviews.

The exact number of workers expected to be forced out was not immediately clear.

However, Meta had roughly 72,000 employees as of last September, so a 5% workforce cut could result in about 3,600 job losses.

A Meta spokesman confirmed the memo but declined to comment further.

Meta had previously cut thousands of jobs in 2023 in what Zuckerberg called an “efficiency year.” Belt-tightening efforts included significant cuts in middle management.

The latest cuts are part of an ongoing change to the Meta that has been underway for the past few weeks.

Meta announced last week that it would kill off its DEI-focused initiatives.

Elsewhere, Meta named Joel Kaplan, a Republican, to serve as its chief policy executive.

During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Zuckerberg argued that elements of corporate America have been “culturally sterilized” and argued for more “masculine energy” in the workplace.