Meta, formerly Facebook, is expected to announce another round of mass layoffs on Wednesday a report from Vox that cites “several sources working at the company.”
The layoffs are part of a broader restructuring at Meta that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called the “year of efficiency.” In March, Zuckerberg said the company would cut 10,000 jobs in the coming months, particularly those related to “low priority projects.” This comes on top of the 11,000 jobs cut in November.
This week’s layoffs could be in the order of 4,000 jobs, a source told Vox. businessroundups.org couldn’t confirm the news, but it’s not unexpected. Zuckerberg had previously said the April cuts would affect jobs in engineering departments, while another round of layoffs scheduled for May will affect the business side.
Some have speculated that many projects and teams within the Facebook app and Reality Labs, the unit dedicated to augmented and virtual reality experiences, will soon see the axe. However, those working on game development can be safe for now, as Meta is working to market its metaverse slot to traditional gamers, according to a Business Insider report.
That could be a strategic lynchpin for Meta and Zuckerberg, both of whom have promoted the metaverse as a place for social interactions, work, and e-commerce. Meta invested billions in its social VR platform Horizon Worlds. Horizon Worlds hasn’t really taken off though, with only approx 200,000 monthly active users late last year.
