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Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg hints at possible layoffs after confirming hiring will slow

By Nithya Bose in US business news, posted April 21, 2023

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has told staff there might be more layoffs and the company will also slow hiring.

In a virtual Q&A session with employees on Thursday, April 20, Zuckerberg said the latest cuts affected 4,000 jobs, mainly in tech units.

Since last November, the Facebook parent said that 21,000 employees would be let go, almost a quarter of its workforce.

The company has also made cuts in its information problems engineering division.

It is responsible for enabling fact-checking, addressing misinformation claims related to elections globally, and can downrank inappropriate content.

Sources say about 75 percent of this division was laid off on Wednesday, April 19.

The remaining workforce is being merged into a broader team within Facebook’s integrity operations that handles bogus information.

Though Meta will fill vacant roles, Mr. Zuckerberg told staff re not to expect more than 1 to 2 percent year-on-year in net growth from now on.

During the latest virtual meeting, several employees objected to Zuckerberg’s close circle of executives receiving high-performance assessments and bonuses.

Mr. Zuckerberg responded to the callouts and said he was satisfied with the executives’ performance in new and expanded duties.

Other staffers opposed the steep reductions in its user experience research operation, which looks at people’s use of Meta’s services and how its products affect users.

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In response, Meta CPO Chris Cox said the firm appreciated the terminated employees' efforts and would continue to work on such concerns.

In March, Mr. Zuckerberg told staff that most of the job losses for 2023 will be completed by May.

But he also noted what will happen in the coming years is unpredictable.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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