Meta To Lay Off 3,600 Employees, Mark Zuckerberg Targets Low Performers

New Delhi: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is planning to let go of about 3,600 employees or nearly 5 per cent of its workforce, according to a report from Bloomberg. The company led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made the decision to dismiss these workers due to their performance being deemed below expectations. Meta, which employed around 72,400 people as of September, aims to replace these positions with new hires.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in the memo explained that the decision to let go of employees is part of a strategy to “raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster.” Such layoffs are a common practice among major U.S. corporations. They follow similar cuts announced by Microsoft last week, which impacted less than one percent of its workforce.

Why is Meta laying off employees and who will be affected?

Meta is cutting jobs as part of its goal to reach 10 per cent “non-regrettable” attribution by the end of the current performance cycle, as per the memo. The job cuts will primarily affect employees who have been with the company long enough to receive a performance review and are considered underperforming. Meta has assured those impacted that they will receive “generous severance.”

Microsoft to Cut Low-Performing Employees

Microsoft is also planning to let go of low-performing employees. The company is following a similar approach to Meta. While the exact number of affected workers hasn't been disclosed, a recent report from Business Insider suggests that multiple departments, including some key ones, will be impacted. This move aligns with Microsoft’s ongoing practice of restructuring under CEO Satya Nadella, aiming to maintain a high-performing workforce.