Meta to lay off 11,000 employees globally; Zuckerberg calls

New Delhi: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed on Wednesday to lay off 11,000 its employees globally after a disappointing revenue growth. The lay off will start from Wednesday, November 9, 2022. Mark Zuckerberg has posted the blog regarding the layoff informing about the faltering revenue. Meta had 87,314 employees as of the end of September.

"Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history. I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go. We are also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1," Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post. 

Facebook parent Meta is laying off 11,000 people, about 13% of its workforce, as it contends with faltering revenue and broader tech industry woes, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a letter to employees Wednesday.

The company also plans to cut discretionary spending and extend its hiring freeze through the first quarter. But it did not disclose the expected cost savings from the moves.

Meta will pay 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for every year of service, as well as all remaining paid time off, as a part of the severance package, the company said.

Impacted employees will also receive their shares that were set to vest on Nov. 15 and healthcare coverage for six months, according to the company.

Zuckerberg is among several top U.S. executives who have this year sounded the alarm on an upcoming recession.

Some of Meta's wounds, however, have been self-inflicted.

A pricey bet on metaverse, a shared virtual world, has seen the company forecast as much as $100 billion in expenses for 2023. That has drawn skepticism from investors who are losing patience with investments that Zuckerberg himself expects a decade to bear fruit.

The company is also grappling with stiff competition from TikTok and privacy changes from Apple Inc (AAPL.O), while being in the crosshairs of regulators around the globe.

Meta`s head of human resources, Lori Goler, told the group that employees who lose their jobs will be provided with at least four months of salary as severance, according to people familiar with the meeting. Zuckerberg described broad cuts and specifically mentioned the recruiting and business teams as among those facing layoffs.

(With Agencies Inputs)