According to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg on Tuesday, Meta intends to fire about 3,600 workers who have been deemed low performers and replace them with new hires.
Five per cent of its employees will be impacted by CEO Mark Zuckerberg‘s decision, the company, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, confirmed to AFP.
In September, Meta employed about 72,400 people.
“I’ve decided to improve performance management and fire underachievers more quickly,” Zuckerberg declared.
According to the CEO, the purpose of the performance-based cuts is to guarantee that the business has the “strongest talent” and can “bring new people in.”
Large American firms frequently terminate employees depending on their performance. According to Business Insider, Microsoft announced similar layoffs last week that will impact less than 1% of its employees.
The layoffs are part of larger Meta changes before Donald Trump’s January 20 return to the White House.
Recent dinner conversations with Trump and the appointment of a Republican to lead Meta’s public affairs department are just two examples of Zuckerberg’s growing alignment with conservative political figures and ideologies.
Zuckerberg declared last week that the company’s US fact-checking initiative, which was designed to counteract false material on its platforms, was coming to an end. Conservative voices had criticised the show, accusing it of censorship.
Similar to features on X, formerly Twitter, which Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, has supported, users will be able to add context to postings under the new system.
Additionally, the business has loosened Facebook and Instagram’s content moderation guidelines, especially with relation to specific types of hate speech, and reduced its diversity initiatives.
