Mark Zuckerberg warned Meta employees last week that the company faces one of the “worst downturns that we’ve seen in recent history” which would necessitate a scaling back in hires and resources.
The dire economic warning was delivered during an internal videoconference meeting on Thursday for Meta’s 77,800 workers, according to a New York Times report.
To underscore the ominous message, the Meta CEO told employees to expect to do more with fewer resources and that their performance would be more intensely evaluated.
“I think some of you might decide that this place isn’t for you, and that self-selection is OK with me,” Zuckerberg said on a call, according to the Times. “Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn’t be here.”
Meta warns that economic “headwinds are fierce”
Buttressing Zuckerberg’s comments, Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said in a separate memo that Meta faces “serious times” and economic “headwinds are fierce.”
The most obvious manifestation will be fewer hires. Facebook’s parent company now intends to add 6,000 to 7,000 engineers this year, down from an initial goal of 10,000, the Times reported.
A former Facebook employee confirmed to MarketWatch that the Silicon Valley company has significantly reduced its hiring plans in recent months.
Meta is one of several tech companies facing choppy economic waters as it navigates through inflation, a war in Ukraine, and supply-chain issues. In recent days, Tesla, Netflix, Unity Software, Coinbase Global, Stitch Fix, and Redfin have announced deep job cuts.
Source: Greek Reporter
