Facebook is preparing to lay off more people. More accurately, Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) will. The prior layoffs were so popular with investors that it is time to do it again. It is the company’s policy of profit over people. (These are the industries laying off the most people.)
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Meta has already laid off 11,000 people, or 13% of the staff. According to Bloomberg, it is unclear how many will be in this next wave, but it will be in the thousands.
Founder Mark Zuckerberg was under fire before he started the employee chopping process. His move into the metaverse, a set of products that created augmented reality, cost Meta billions of dollars but did not appear poised to make any money. Other tech firms with similar products have backed off the business as well.
The decision is one of convenience over imagination. Zuckerberg admitted he overhired. He did not admit that Meta has not created a new product in years, although it has bought some. Not all the acquisitions worked. Part of an enlarged or stable workforce would be a sign he has something for them to do. That is not the case.
Meta has been good enough to tell employees that job cuts are coming. He said a series would be done in April and another in May.
If Zuckerberg aims to increase Meta’s stock price, the effort has worked. Shares are up 81% this year, which has added billions of dollars to Meta’s market cap. Since Zuckerberg is the largest shareholder, he has become fabulously richer.
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