In the first mass layoff in Meta's history, the company is cutting its workforce by about 13 percent, letting go of more than 11,000 employees, according to Engadget.
The sad news was delivered by the company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a message to employees, which the company shared on its Newsroom.
Zuckerberg Says Mass Layoffs is 'Some the Most Difficult Changes'
On Wednesday, Zuckerberg shared what he described as "some of the most difficult changes" they've ever made in the history of Meta.
The layoffs happen in the middle of a tough time for Facebook's parent company. The company's fourth-quarter earnings is making investors worried and caused its shares to dip by nearly 20 percent.
Meta's rising costs and expenses have been among the concerns of investors. In the third quarter, it increased 19 percent year over year to $22.1 billion, as per CNBC.
In the quarter, the company's overall sales declined by 4 percent to $27.71 billion. On the other hand, its operating income declined by 46 percent from the previous year to $5.66 billion.
Every organization in the company will be affected by the job cuts, but certain departments will be impacted more than others.
Aside from implementing mass layoffs, the company is also going to cut back on discretionary spending. Likewise, as a move to cut costs, it is extending its hiring freeze throughout the first quarter of 2023.
As the company intends to hire fewer people next year, the layoff will affect the recruitment team disproportionately.
Zuckerberg said that he wants to take accountability for Meta's decisions and for how the company got where it currently stands.
Likewise, he apologized to everyone who will be affected by the layoffs and said that he understands that what is about to transpire is something tough.
Read Also: Meta Reportedly Freezes Hiring of New Employees - Are Layoffs Happening Too?
Meta Says it Will Help Affected Employees Find New Jobs
According to the company's CEO, employees impacted by the layoff will be notified via email. Affected employees will be given severance pay worth 16 weeks of their base. Likewise, they will receive two additional weeks for every year of service.
For six months, the cost of healthcare for the affected employees and their families will be covered by the company.
According to Engadget, Meta commits itself to helping the impacted employees find new jobs using an external vendor. This will provide them access to unpublished job listings.
With a dedicated team of immigration specialists, the company will support employees on a visa. The support that will be provided by the company will be similar to those in other countries, but taking local employment laws into consideration.
Given the amount of sensitive information the employees have access to, Meta announced that the company had already removed system access for those being laid off today.
To keep the employees on tab on who are impacted by the layoffs, email addresses will continue to be active throughout the day.
This is contrary to what Twitter did when the social media platform reportedly cut off people's access to their emails even before they were informed that they got laid off. During the first days, it was unclear who was still working in the company.
Related Article: Meta Reportedly Prepares For 'Large-Scale' Layoffs This Week
