Meta to cut 5% of staff as Zuckerberg targets ‘low performers’: memo
Meta is planning to slash roughly 5% of its staff this year in a move aimed at weeding out under-performers, 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 the ousted employees.
The Facebook and Instagram boss — who has drawn backlash for scrapping fact-checking on his 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 Meta pours more resources in AI and other key projects.
“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” Zuckerberg said in the memo, which was first obtained by Bloomberg.
“We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle,” Zuckerberg added.
Meta will “provide generous severance” to the impacted workers, Zuckerberg added.
The company is expected to notify US-based workers affected by the cuts on Feb. 10, after 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% cut to the workforce could result in about 3,600 job losses.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the memo but declined further comment.
Meta had previously slashed thousands of jobs in 2023 in what Zuckerberg dubbed a “year of efficiency.” The belt-tightening effort included significant cuts to middle management.
The latest cuts are part of an ongoing shakeup at Meta that has been playing out over the last several weeks.
Meta announced last week that it would kill its DEI-focused initiatives.
Elsewhere, Meta appointed Joel Kaplan, a Republican, to serve as its top policy executive.
During a recent appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Zuckerberg argued that elements of corporate America have been “culturally neutered” and argued for more “masculine energy” in the workplace.
