No more layoffs this year, Mark Zuckerberg tells Meta employees after firing 8,000 workers

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has informed employees that the company does not expect to lay off more employees this year after it fired 8,000 workers on Wednesday. Previous reports had indicated that another 8,000 jobs could've been under the radar.

In Short

• Mark Zuckerberg says no more layoffs after 8,000 job cuts at Meta
• Mark says success not a given in AI era
• Meta has also reassigned 7,000 employees following the layoffs

On Wednesday, around 8,000 Meta employees received an email at 4 am that informed them that their services were no longer needed. This layoff round accounted for roughly 10 per cent of the company’s global workforce, with another 7,000 being reassigned to new teams. Following this, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly sent a memo to Meta employees, clarifying that the rest of the workforce was not at risk of being laid off this year.

As per a report by Reuters, Zuckerberg wrote in the memo that Meta was not planning to cut more jobs. He wrote, “I want to be clear that we do not expect other company-wide layoffs this year.”

Previous reports had indicated that Meta may fire another 8,000 workers following the first round of layoffs. While Mark Zuckerberg did not directly address such reports, he admitted that the company needed to improve its communication with employees. He added, “I also want to acknowledge that we haven't been as clear as we aspire to be in our communication, and that's one area I want to make sure we improve.”

Mark Zuckerberg says success not a given after 8,000 job cuts

In the memo, Mark acknowledged that artificial intelligence was going to change the world. And, the Meta CEO believed that at this time, success could not be taken for granted even for a company like Meta. He explained, “But success isn't a given. AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes.”

As per reports, Meta is restructuring following the layoffs, with employees being placed in smaller teams and fewer managerial roles.

Mark Zuckerberg also claimed that he felt the weight of this decision. He wrote, “It's always sad to say goodbye to people who have contributed to our mission and to building this company. I feel the weight of that, and I'm spending a lot of time making sure we manage this as well as possible.”

Meta has offered severance packages to impacted employees. Workers who were laid off were given 16 weeks of severance, plus another two weeks for every year they had worked at the company. Though keep in mind that this package may vary depending on the region.

Keep in mind that apart from the 8,000 job cuts and 7,000 reassignments, Meta has also scrapped plans to fill 6,000 open roles. The tech giant has previously mentioned that it plans to use savings from the restructuring to make more investments. With plans to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion this year, a majority of which will go into AI.

You can read the full memo from Mark Zuckerberg below:

“Hey everyone,

I want to express my gratitude to everyone leaving today for all of the hard work you've put into serving our community.

It's always sad to say goodbye to people who have contributed to our mission and to building this company. I feel the weight of that, and I'm spending a lot of time making sure we manage this as well as possible.

This is the most dynamic I have seen our industry. I'm optimistic about everything we're building to give billions of people the power to express themselves and connect with the people they care about. I'm also optimistic about delivering personal superintelligence to everyone. We've always focused on putting power in people's hands. This is how we believe progress is made in the world. These values are what makes us different, and they are why Meta has been successful.

But success isn't a given. AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes. The companies that lead the way will define the next generation.

We're transforming our company to make sure it will always be the best place for talented people to have the greatest impact. People tell us that they appreciate the ability to take greater ownership and execute their vision with less bureaucracy and management to navigate. At the same time, we also want to provide everyone with as much stability as possible. We won't always get this balance right, but I care deeply about this so we'll keep adjusting and work hard to do right by people along the way.

To that end, I want to be clear that we do not expect other company-wide layoffs this year. I also want to acknowledge that we haven't been as clear as we aspire to be in our communication, and that's one area I want to make sure we improve.

I'm confident in what we're all building together. We are one of the few companies positioned to help define the future. Meta has the talent, the infrastructure, the apps and distribution, and the business model. We have a lot of work ahead, but what's on the other side is going to be extraordinary.

Once again, I'm grateful to those leaving today. And I'm grateful to everyone around the company for all of the historic work we will continue doing together.

Mark”

- Ends