Meta, owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, will lay off 11,000 workers, 13% of its workforce

The U.S. tech company Meta, owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, plans to lay off about 11,000 workers, 13 percent of its workforce, according to a statement published Tuesday on its website and signed by Mark Zuckerberg himself.

These layoffs, according to the head of Meta, aim to achieve a more agile and efficient company and respond to changes in the economic and business environment.

Those affected will receive an email to inform them of their situation.

Mark Zuckerberg announces Meta is laying off over 11,000 employees pic.twitter.com/QQSsZjYv9u

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) November 9, 2022

Zuckerberg assures in his statement that this decision is one of the most “difficult” in the company’s history and assures that he assumes responsibility: “I know this is difficult for everyone, and I am especially sorry for those affected”.

The covid-19 pandemic, says the company’s CEO, led to a significant increase in e-commerce and “an enormous growth in revenues,” which has not been sustained since then.

“Many people predicted that this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not turn out as I expected,” he adds.

Probably one of the biggest layoffs in the tech history.

11K people laid off by Meta today. That’s heart wrenching.#layoffs #recession #meta #Facebook pic.twitter.com/Oshu2lhs6R

— Arpit Tripathi🇮🇳 (@arpitripathi_) November 9, 2022

Now, the macroeconomic recession, increased competition and the loss of advertisers have caused, according to Zuckerberg, “our revenues to be much lower than I expected. I was wrong and I take responsibility for that.”

The head of Meta recognizes that the company has to focus on a smaller number of sectors, reduce costs and prioritize some units such as the one oriented to the Artificial Intelligence engine.

The layoffs, according to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, are the first extensive staff reductions in the eighteen-year history of the company and coincide with those carried out by other technology companies, such as Twitter.

-Thailand News (TN)