BENGALURU: Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc on Wednesday said it was removing 11,000 employees, or 13% of its workforce, joining the list of tech companies that have resorted to massive layoffs citing unfavourable financial outlook.
In its official statement, Meta added that it was extending the hiring freeze through the first quarter. This means, the company will not recruit people for another six months. Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, has over 87,000 employees globally. The latest layoff is the biggest since Facebook’s inception in 2004.
In his message to employees, CEO Mark Zuckerberg was apologetic about the pink slips but said Meta will also take additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending.
While details of the divisional and location-wise breakup of the layoffs will emerge in the coming days, the fact that the announcement has specifically touched upon expatriate support is an indication of the impact on this cohort, said Kamal Karanth, co-founder, of Xpheno, a specialist staffing firm.
‘No impact on India’
Meta employs 300 people in India. Sources told this paper that the layoffs will have little impact in India as the Indian business is doing well. Meta India posted gross advertising revenue of Rs 16,000 cr in FY22 – a 74% jump over the previous year