The group that owns Facebook is exacerbating the bleeding of layoffs in the sector of tech giants
The avalanche of layoffs at major technology is increasing. Meta (Facebook) has just confirmed that it will lay off 11,000 workers, 13% of the global workforce, representing some 87,000 employees, as a result of the collapse in income over the past year.
In a statement, social network founder Mark Zuckerberg also assures that the company has decided to completely freeze new hires until at least the first quarter of 2023. “We need to be more efficient in capital,” says the chief executive of the company furthermore claims to want to “take responsibility for these decisions and how we got here.” “I know it’s a difficult situation for everyone and I feel sorry for those affected,” he said.
According to the company, the reasons for the strong headcount adjustment are that the earnings outlook at the beginning of the year is lower than expected, in addition to evidence that “online commerce has returned to previous trends” of the pandemic. Added to this is the impact of the economic downturn and “increased competition and loss of advertising that have lowered our revenues than expected,” Zuckerberg emphasized in the statement. “I was wrong and I take responsibility for it,” he says.
Last July, Facebook announced the first year-over-year revenue decline in its history. Specifically, from 1% to $28,800 million in the second quarter of the year. A figure that lagged behind analysts’ forecasts.
While the business decline is clear and demonstrable with numbers, it should also be remembered that in just two years, since mid-2020, Facebook’s workforce has doubled from the 44,000 employees the social network had at the time. His steadfast dedication to the Metaverse is behind this exorbitant increase in the workforce. A gamble that has been seriously questioning the market for months because of the large investment it demands in return for returns that don’t seem guaranteed.
Faced with this situation, Zuckerberg wanted to take advantage of the layoff statement to also send a message to investors, assuring that “we are vastly underestimated as a company as millions of people use our services and our communities continue to grow.” “I am convinced that if we work efficiently, we will emerge from this recession stronger and more resilient than ever,” he emphasizes.
Facebook’s decision comes just days after Twitter, another major platform in the industry, announced the layoff of 3,700 employees, half of its workforce, in a highly controversial process over the formula chosen to execute it (via e-mail). mail and with errors in the layoffs that the company is now trying to correct).
As reported by Meta, the company will pay four months’ minimum wage to workers affected by layoffs in the US and has guaranteed separate processes to be conducted in the rest of the countries “taking into account local labor laws.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
