The parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp reduced its workforce by 13 percent and extended a hiring freeze through the first quarter of next year.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, met with executives on Tuesday about the layoffs.
Since Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004, the Silicon Valley company has steadily hired more employees. At the end of September, it had amassed its largest-ever number of workers, totaling 87,314 people.
But on Wednesday, the company — now renamed Meta — began cutting jobs, and deeply.
Meta said it was laying off more than 11,000 people, or about 13 percent of its workforce, in what amounted to the company’s most significant job cuts. The layoffs were made across departments and regions, with areas like recruiting and business teams affected more than others. The divisions that were not cut as steeply included engineers working on projects related to the metaverse, the immersive online world that Mr. Zuckerberg has bet big on, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,” Mr. Zuckerberg, 38, wrote in a letter to employees. “I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry for those impacted.”
The cuts — nearly triple the number that Twitter slashed last week, though not as deep a percentage — represent a stunning reversal of fortune for a once high-flying company whose ambition and room for growth had seemed limitless. Meta spent lavishly over the years, accumulating users, buying companies such as Instagram and WhatsApp, and showering its employees with enviable perks. Not even scrutiny over its data privacy practices and the toxic content on its apps could dent its financial performance, as its stock continued climbing and its revenues soared. At one point last year, Meta was valued at $1 trillion.
But the company has struggled financially this year as it has tried to move into a new business — the immersive world of the so-called metaverse — while grappling with a global economic slowdown and a decline in digital advertising, the main source of its revenue. New competitors like TikTok emerged to capture a younger audience while Meta’s services lost their sheen. Last month, Meta posted a 50 percent slide in quarterly profits and its second straight sales decline, even as its spending soared by 19 percent. Its stock has dropped roughly 70 percent this year.
Mr. Zuckerberg attributed the cuts on Wednesday to growing too quickly during the pandemic when a surge in online commerce led to a big spike in revenue. He said he had thought the shift would be permanent, leading him to significantly increase spending. Meta’s number of employees at the end of September was 28 percent higher than a year earlier.
“Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected,” Mr. Zuckerberg said. “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”
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workforce
work‧force /ˈwɜːkfɔːs $ ˈwɜːrkfɔːrs/ ●○○ noun [singular] all the people who work in a particular industry or company, or are available to work in a particular country or area → staff Women now represent almost 50% of the workforce. The company is cutting its workforce.skilled/educated/flexible etc workforce
hiring freeze
they're not hiring any more people
to freeze: to stop doing something
lay off
lay off phrasal verb
1 lay somebody ↔ off to stop employing someone because there is no work for them to do → lay-off The company laid off 250 workers in December. Millions of people have been laid off in the steel industry.2 lay off (something) informal to stop using or doing something
I think you’d better lay off alcohol for a while.lay off doing something
I had to lay off running for several months. Just lay off, will you! I wish he’d lay off me!lay something off to somebody
Murphy has the ball and then lays it off to Owen.
steadily
stead‧i‧ly /ˈstedəli/ ●●○ adverb
1 gradually and continually
The company’s exports have grown steadily. Debt was increasing steadily. The track climbs steadily. He looked steadily at his uncle.
steep
steep1 /stiːp/ ●●○ S3 adjective (comparative steeper, superlative steepest)
The road became rocky and steep. a steep climb to the top steep rents steep cuts in benefitssteep increase/rise
a steep increase in house pricessteep decrease/drop
a steep drop in orders—steeply adverb—steepness noun [uncountable]steep2 verb [intransitive, transitive]
1 → be steeped in history/tradition/politics etc2 to put food in a liquid and leave it there, so that it becomes soft or has the same taste as the liquid, or so that it gives the liquid its taste Leave the tea bag to steep.
slash
slash1 /slæʃ/ ●●○ verb
1 [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to cut or try to cut something violently with a knife, sword etc Someone had slashed the tires.slash at/through
The leopard’s claws slashed through the soft flesh. The workforce has been slashed by 50%.3 → slash your wrists
slash2 ●●○ noun [countable]
1 a quick movement that you make with a knife, sword etc in order to cut someone or something2 (also slash mark) a line (/) used in writing to separate words, numbers, or letters3 a long narrow cut in something → gash Cut several slashes across the top of the loaf before baking.4 → have/take a slash
stunning
stun‧ning /ˈstʌnɪŋ/ ●○○ adjective
You look absolutely stunning in that dress. a stunning view stunning news—stunningly adverb
a stunningly beautiful woman
stunning reversal of fortune
it's shocking that things went from good to bad.
once high-flying
once1 /wʌns/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb
I’ve only met her once. Paul’s been to Wexford once before.(just) the once British English spoken
Mrs Peterson came in to see Ruth just the once.once2 ●●● S1 W1 conjunction
from the time when something happens
Once I get him a job, he’ll be fine. Once in bed, the children usually stay there.
high-ˈflier, high flyer noun [countable]
someone who is extremely successful in their job or in school—high-flying adjective
ambition
am‧bi‧tion /æmˈbɪʃən/ ●●○ W3 noun
an ambition to do something
She had always had an ambition to be a pilot.somebody’s ambitions of doing something
An injury ended his ambitions of becoming a professional footballer. He was young and full of ambition.
lavish
lav‧ish1 /ˈlævɪʃ/ ●○○ adjective
a royal palace on a lavish scale a lavish lifestyle The food was lavish.lavish with/in
We were always lavish with financial aid in times of crisis. He was always lavish in his praise of my efforts.—lavishly adverb
their lavishly illustrated catalogue—lavishness noun [uncountable]
lavish2 ●○○ verb [transitive]
to give someone or something a lot of love,
praise, money etc
lavish something on/upon somebody
He lavished attention on her.lavish somebody with something
Hug your children and lavish them with love.
enviable
en‧vi‧a‧ble /ˈenviəbəl/ adjective
an enviable
quality, position, or
possession is good and other people would like to have it
perk
perk1 /pɜːk $ pɜːrk/ noun [countable usually plural]
something that you get legally from your work in
addition to your
wages, such as goods,
meals, or a car
perk of
the perks of working at a large law firm I only eat here because it’s free – one of the perks of the job.perk2 verb [intransitive, transitive]
informal to percolate(3)→ perk up : Striped shirt and pink tie perked up a little.
scrutiny
scru‧ti‧ny /ˈskruːtɪni/ ●○○ noun [uncountable]
careful/close scrutiny
Careful scrutiny of the company’s accounts revealed a whole series of errors. Their activities have come under police scrutiny.
dent
dent1 /dent/ noun [countable]
dent in
There was a large dent in the passenger door.dent in
The trip made a big dent in our savings. Eight years of effort have hardly put a dent in drug trafficking.
dent2 verb
1 [intransitive, transitive] if you dent something, or if it dents, you hit or press it so that its surface is bent inwards No one was injured, but the car was scratched and dented. The scandal has dented his reputation.
revenue
rev‧e‧nue /ˈrevənjuː $ -nuː/ ●○○ AWL noun [uncountable] (also revenues [plural])
advertising revenue Strikes have cost £20 million in lost revenues.2 money that the government receives from tax an increase in tax revenues of 8.4%
soar
soar /sɔː $ sɔːr/ ●○○ verb [intransitive]
1 AMOUNTS/PRICES ETC to increase quickly to a high level OPP plummet
Her temperature soared. The price of petrol has soared in recent weeks. soaring unemployment2 IN THE SKY
She watched the dove soar above the chestnut trees. The ball soared to left field.3 SPIRITS/HOPES if your spirits (=the way you are feeling, for example happy, sad etc) or hopes soar, you begin to feel very happy or hopeful OPP sink Adam’s smile sent her spirits soaring. Here the cliffs soar a hundred feet above the sea. a soaring skyscraper
struggle
strug‧gle1 /ˈstrʌɡəl/ ●●○ W3 verb [intransitive]
1 to try extremely hard to achieve something, even though it is very difficult struggle to do something
She’s struggling to bring up a family alone.struggle with
The airline is struggling with high costs.struggle for
Millions of people are struggling for survival.struggle against
Firms are struggling against a prolonged recession.2
a) to fight someone who is attacking you or holding you, especially so that you can escape struggle with
James was hit in the mouth as he struggled with the burglars.struggle to do something
She struggled to free herself.b) if two people struggle, they fight each other for something, especially something one of them is holding
struggle for
They struggled for possession of the gun.struggle up/out of/into etc
Walkers were struggling up the dusty track.4 to be likely to fail, even though you are trying very hard The team has been struggling all season.a struggling artist/writer/business→ struggle on
struggle2 ●●○ W3 noun [countable]
1 a long hard fight to get freedom, political rights etc struggle for
a struggle for survival a power struggle between forces favoring and opposing change2 a long period of time in which you try to deal with a difficult problem
struggle with/against
She spoke of her struggles with shyness.3 a fight between two people for something, or an attempt by one person to escape from the other Police said there were no signs of a struggle.4 → be a struggle (for somebody)
immersive
im‧mer‧sive /ɪˈmɜːsɪv $ -ɜːr-/ adjective
immersive video games
grapple
grap‧ple /ˈɡræpəl/ verb [intransitive]
to fight or struggle with someone, holding them tightly SYN wrestle grapple with
Two men grappled with a guard at the door.→ grapple with something
surge
surge1 /sɜːdʒ $ sɜːrdʒ/ ●○○ verb [intransitive]
1 [always + adverb/preposition] to suddenly move very quickly in a particular direction surge forward/through etc
The taxi surged forward. The crowd surged through the gates.2 (also surge up) if a feeling surges or surges up, you begin to feel it very strongly
She could feel anger surging inside her.3 [usually + adverb/preposition] if a large amount of a liquid, electricity, chemical etc surges, it moves very quickly and suddenly A wave surged up towards them. Adrenalin surged through her veins.4 to suddenly increase SYN shoot up
Oil prices surged.surge2 ●○○ noun [countable usually singular]
1 → a surge of something2 a sudden increase in amount or number surge in/of
a surge in food costs a surge of reporters’ interest in his financessurge of
a surge of refugees into the country4 a sudden quick movement of a liquid, electricity, chemical etc through something a device that protects your computer against electrical surges
play something ↔ out
play something ↔ out phrasal verb
1 if an event or situation is played out or plays itself out, it happens It will be interesting to see how the election plays itself out. The weekend gives you a chance to play out your fantasies.
