Mark Zuckerberg has warned Meta employees that the company is facing one of the worst downturns in its history and that job losses are certain in the near future. The CEO of the tech giant that owns social media companies Facebook and Instagram said in uncertain terms there will be a scaling back of operations and employee departures owing to the tight financial squeeze the behemoth is facing.
Massive Revenue Drop
"I think some of you might decide that this place isn't for you, and that self-selection is OK with me ... Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn't be here," ," Zuckerberg said in a conference call with the employees, according to the New York Times.
"Part of my hope by raising expectations and having more aggressive goals, and just kind of turning up the heat a little bit, is that I think some of you might decide that this place isn't for you, and that self-selection is OK with me," Zuckerberg added.
It was reported a few days ago that Meta, Facebook's parent company, will be hiring fewer people than it originally planned for the year. While the original plan for the year was to hire 10,000 people, that target has been revised down to between 6,000 and 7,000 engineers.
How Apple's Privacy Settings Change Affected Meta
The tightening at Meta comes in the backdrop of the massive drop in its advertising revenues in recent times. Changes enforced in the privacy settings have impinged on the drop in the amount of user data that Facebook and Instagram collects, thereby causing a direct drop in the revenues.
Over the last two straight quarters, Meta has reported profit declines, which is a first in a decade. In a historic market crash in February, Meta lost a whopping $230 billion in market value, following the quarterly results.
Meta Platforms Inc's shares plunged more than 20 percent after the social media company posted a weaker-than-expected forecast. The company said Apple's privacy changes on the iPhones, as well as increased competition from rivals like TikTok resulted in a decline in the number of global daily active users.
"Apple's changes to its operating software give users the choice to prevent apps from tracking their online activity for ads, making it harder for advertisers that rely on data to develop new products and know their market," Reuters reported.
Pressure on Employees
The numbers dropped from the previous quarter for the first time, to 1.929 billion from 1.930 billion.
Sharing the grim view of things to come, Zuckerberg also told the employees that their performance would be more aggressively watched and that they should do more with fewer resources.
Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox also highlighted fierce economic headwinds for the company.
"We are in serious times here and the headwinds are fierce. We need to execute flawlessly in an environment of slower growth, where teams should not expect vast influxes of new engineers and budgets," Cox said, according to Reuters.
