Meta Denies Plans for New Mass Layoffs
Meta has denied rumors of a new wave of performance-based layoffs that would target the bottom 5% of its staff. The company clarified that recent job cuts are isolated and not part of a broad restructuring, though some divisions are still undergoing structural changes.
- This denial follows a period of significant workforce reduction, including laying off 11,000 employees in November 2022 and an additional 10,000 in March 2023. - CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared 2023 the "year of efficiency," aiming to flatten the organization and improve financial performance in a challenging economic environment. - The rumors of performance-based cuts stem from a practice in early 2025 where Meta did lay off employees who were rated as the lowest performers, representing about 5% of the workforce at the time. - Despite the earlier mass layoffs, Meta's recent financial performance has been strong, with fourth-quarter 2025 revenues up 23.78% year-over-year, beating analyst expectations. - Recent job cuts have been targeted at specific divisions, including about 10% of the Reality Labs workforce, as the company shifts resources towards artificial intelligence. - The company's focus on AI is a significant driver of its current strategy, with Zuckerberg stating that building full general intelligence is a crucial goal for the next generation of services. - The tech industry as a whole has seen significant job cuts over the past few years, with around 127,000 workers let go from U.S.-based tech companies in 2025, though this was a decrease from over 152,000 in 2024. - A "surprising result" of the 2023 layoffs, according to Zuckerberg, was that the leaner organization executed its highest priorities faster.
