Meta is cutting 5% of its workforce as Zuckerberg looks to "raise the bar"

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Meta wants to cut 5% of its headcount
CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants low performers out, and new talent in
The cuts, with general attrition, will cut headcount by around 10% this year

Meta is planning to cut 5% of its workforce, according to an internal memo shared by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to employees and acquired by Bloomberg.

Figures put Meta’s current workforce at around 72,500, meaning the layoffs would affect at least 3,600 of the company's “low-performers.”

“We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle,” Zuckerberg said in the memo.

‘This is going to be an intense year’

“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” Zuckerberg said, further stating the company would be backfilling the open roles through 2025.

Those to be ousted from the company in the US are expected to be notified on February 10 and will be given “generous severance”, according to Zuckerberg, with overseas workers likely to be notified at a later date. Meta has cut around 21,000 workers between 2022 and 2023, with Zuckerberg cutting 10,000 of these jobs during the company's “year of efficiency” of '23.

As for this year, Meta’s employee numbers are expected to drop 10% as a result of current job cuts and attrition. Going forward, the company is planning to focus heavily on AI, smart glasses, and its social media platforms., with Zuckerberg likely poised to fill the impending gap in the market caused by TikTok's upcoming ban in the US on January 19th.

Zuckerberg also recently announced that Meta would be ceasing its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and that Facebook and Instagram would be switching from “politically biased” fact checking services to a community based notes system, similar to Twitter (now known as X).

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Benedict has been writing about security issues for over 7 years, first focusing on geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division), then continuing his studies at a postgraduate level, achieving a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, Benedict transitioned his focus towards cybersecurity, exploring state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.