Meta prepares more lay-offs across Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram

Facebook owner Meta Platforms is set to begin companywide lay-offs on Wednesday as it restructures teams and works towards founder Mark Zuckerberg’s goal of greater efficiency.

The social media giant’s Irish operations are expected to escape the worst of the cuts, with a small number of jobs to go here.

The Facebook parent company notified managers to prepare to announce job cuts on Wednesday. It indicates that Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Reality Labs – which houses the firm’s virtual reality efforts and Quest hardware – will all be impacted.

Meta Ireland’s data centre operations, which employ about 200 people, are also expected to be affected. Meta Ireland did not comment on plans for jobs cuts here. However, it is understood that the total number of jobs being lost does not meet the threshold for collective consultation with staff, nor will it require the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment to be notified.

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The move is part of a cost-cutting push that will eventually whittle away 10,000 positions at the company, as announced by Mr Zuckerberg in March. A further round of cuts is set to follow in May.

Meta cut about 350 Irish jobs in a previous round of cuts last year, when it cut about 13 per cent of its global workforce – or 11,000 jobs – in November.

[ Fears for Irish jobs as Meta plans to cut 10,000 workers globally ]

It also extended a hiring freeze through the first quarter, which has been punctuated by job and cost cuts by other Silicon Valley businesses.

Mr Zuckerberg’s comments suggested the company would aim to become more lean and rebalance its ratio of technologists and engineers to business and administrative staff.

The memo circulated to managers indicates that teams will be reorganised and various remaining employees will be reassigned to work under new managers.

Meta will ask all North America employees who can work from home to do so on Wednesday, to have time to process the news, the document said.

A company spokesperson declined to comment, pointing to Mr Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” post in March that said “we expect to announce restructurings and lay-offs in our tech groups in late April, and then our business groups in late May”. – Bloomberg