Social media company Meta continues to cut parts of its workforce and recently announced 10,000 new layoffs to be implemented during 2023 as part of a new efficiency policy. The company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said that artificial intelligence (AI) is now the company’s most prominent investment, even beyond Metaverse.
Meta announces 10,000 layoffs, pushes for sustainability
Meta, parent company of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, has announced a new move as part of its “Year of Efficiency” policy, in a Facebookpost. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new round of 10,000 layoffs that will run through the remainder of 2023. He also stated that 5,000 hiring slots will be closed.
Zuckerberg explained that these layoffs are a result of the new economic structure that the United States and the world are currently facing. In this sense, Zuckerberg declared.
Higher interest rates will lead to a slimmer economy, geopolitical instability will lead to increased volatility, and increased regulation will slow growth and increase the cost of innovation. Given this outlook, to be successful, we must operate more efficiently than we have in the past by reducing our workforce.
However, Zuckerberg has stated that he is moving forward with plans to maintain the company’s sustainability in the short term while continuing to invest in future development.
This move was expected in February, when reports hinted at the implementation of new layoffs due to delays in finalizing the internal budget. Meta laid off 13% of its employees last November and announced a cultural shift within the company, attributing it to the macroeconomic situation.
closer to AI than Metaverse
” Zuckerberg referred to Metaverse on his blog as part of the company’s key technology, saying it “provides realistic realism” and “remains central to defining the future of social connectivity,” but revealed that Meta is currently investing money in other emerging areas.
As part of explaining how the company is doing business internally, Zuckerberg commented:
Our single biggest investment is advancing AI and integrating it into every one of our products. We have the infrastructure to do this on an unprecedented scale and the experiences it will enable will be amazing.
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