Meta has initiated a fresh round of layoffs that has affected employees across its Family of Apps, particularly WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads and its Reality Labs division.
Reported by The Verge, this news marks another chapter in the ongoing wave of workforce cuts that have been sweeping across the tech industry.
One of the employees affected was Jane Manchun Wong, a Massachusetts University graduate who worked as a Threads engineer since 2023. Taking to social media, she announced that her role had been eliminated.
“I’m still trying to process this but I’m informed that my role at Meta has been impacted,” she wrote. “Thank you to everyone, especially my Threads and Instagram teammates, for my wild journey at Meta.”
Meta spokesperson Dave Arnold confirmed the situation, explaining that these layoffs are part of the company’s strategy to restructure its resources to align with its long-term goals.
“This includes moving some teams to different locations and moving some employees to different roles,” he said. “In situations like these, when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees.”
Meta has not disclosed the exact number of layoffs.
The tech giant initiated its first round of layoffs in November 2022, cutting around 11,000 jobs after the company’s workforce expanded rapidly during the pandemic. However, the company misjudged the demand for digital services, leading to an over-expansion of its staff after lockdown.
Layoffs resumed again in 2023, which Zuckerberg described as Meta’s “year of efficiency”. Around 10,000 jobs were cut, with Meta focusing on streamlining operations and reducing redundancy.
Meta is not alone in reducing its workforce. The broader tech industry has been equally impacted during the post-pandemic economic landscape, with Google, Amazon and Microsoft also announcing layoffs.
This news has provoked mixed feelings on social media, with some understanding the company’s efficiency-driven policies while many others expressed discomfort and frustration with how repeated layoffs and reorganizing have impacted and will continue to impact the lives and wellbeing of employees.
