Impacting employees across diverse verticals such as marketing, administration, and human resources, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, implements its most recent round of layoffs.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has recently confirmed another wave of layoffs that has primarily impacted employees within its India operations, across various sectors including marketing, administration, and human resources, according to sources. This action is in line with previous announcements from Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, who has been transparent about the company’s restructuring strategy, which aims to make the tech giant more efficient and realign its business priorities.
On the Frontlines of Layoffs
Meta’s initial round of layoffs was announced back in November of the previous year, during which Zuckerberg indicated that 13 per cent of the company’s workforce would be terminated. Subsequent announcements in March pointed to a more extensive round of layoffs affecting an estimated 10,000 employees on a global scale.
The current wave of job cuts in India is in alignment with these prior announcements. According to a person familiar with the situation, “This time around layoffs were from admin, human resources, marketing, etc. This downsizing round was across the hierarchy, people at all levels have been impacted.” The same source estimated that the present round of layoffs has likely impacted fewer than a hundred individuals within Meta’s India operations.
Financial Impact and Severance Measures
For those affected by this latest round of layoffs, Meta has implemented severance measures similar to previous rounds. As per an employee laid off from Meta’s India operations, “Severance is similar to what laid off employees received in previous rounds, roughly 3 months base pay. Apart from that, there is pay depending on the duration of employment. There is also the option of health insurance extension.”
From a financial perspective, the impact of these layoffs is evident in Meta’s quarterly financial results. The company’s Q1 FY 2023 revenue stood at $28.65 billion, reflecting a 3 per cent year-over-year increase and a 6 per cent increase year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Despite this uptick in revenue, the company’s expenses surged by 10 per cent year-over-year to $21.42 billion, primarily due to restructuring costs, including severance pay and other benefits provided to laid-off employees.
Pursuing Greater Efficiency and Future Plans
Following the announcement of its quarterly financial results, Meta issued a statement detailing its plans for future efficiency measures and business realignment. The company stated, “In 2022, we initiated several measures to pursue greater efficiency and to realign our business and strategic priorities. As of March 31, 2023, we have substantially completed the 2022 employee layoffs while continuing to assess facilities consolidation and data centre restructuring initiatives.”
Looking forward, Meta has announced three rounds of planned layoffs set to reduce the company size by approximately 10,000 employees across the Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL) segments. In connection with these layoffs, the company expects to incur total pre-tax severance and related personnel costs of approximately $1 billion, of which $523 million was recognized during the first quarter of 2023 and the remaining charges will be substantially recorded by the end of 2023.
While these layoffs might seem extensive, it is evident that they form part of Meta’s broader restructuring strategy aimed at making the company more efficient, cost-effective, and strategically aligned with evolving market realities and future goals.