Meta on a layoffs spree, to slash 5% of workforce
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Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, said the layoffs will target low-performance employees.
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Mark Zuckerberg arrives before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)
Meta, the mother company of Facebook, started a round of layoffs on Monday that will cut 5% of staff, approximately 3,700 employees, with Zuckerberg specifying that the layoffs will target low-performance employees.
"I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster," said Zuckerberg in a memo last month, adding that the vacancies will be backfilled.
Previously, Meta eliminated its Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion team after Trump became president, with Maxine Williams, Meta's Chief Diversity Officer, assuming a different role in the company.
Meta undergoes changes
Meta has been undergoing changes, influenced by Trump taking office and shifting the political landscape in the United States after years of tensions between the current US president and the tech giant, in an attempt to appease the current US administration.
Getting rid of fact-checkers was the first of these changes, with Zuckerberg announcing that they would "dramatically reduce the amount of censorship" while pushing for more political content on Facebook and Instagram.
He promised to put free expression first and that Meta will implement a feature similar to the Community Notes feature on Elon Musk's X, adding that the moderation teams will be moved to Texas from California where "there is less concern about the bias of our teams."
Meta culled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, citing the "shifting legal and policy landscape," through a series of measures, including cutting Meta's DEI team, ending all equity and inclusion programs, ending diversity considerations from hiring, and getting rid of representation goals.
Moreover, Meta donated one million dollars to Trump's inaugural fund, the biggest contribution to this fund by a tech company, in an attempt to improve relations between Meta and Trump after years of tensions over censorship and bias.
