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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is laying off about 5% of the company, or roughly 3,600 people, according to an internal memo shared with multiple news outlets this week.
"This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams," Zuckerberg wrote in the memo. "I've decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster. We typically manage out people who aren't meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we're going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle, with the intention of back-filling these roles in 2025."
The reason for the layoffs is clear—Zuck wants to see Meta staff working harder. "Low-performers" can expect to be dismissed from the company faster than before. The company will try to then re-hire for the positions left vacant after the layoffs. Staff deemed to be underperforming will receive "generous" severance packages, according to a separate memo.
News of this latest round of layoffs comes about a week after Meta overhauled its content moderation policies to more closely align with Republican politics and President-elect Donald Trump's viewpoints, allowing Facebook users to claim that LGBTQ+ people are "mentally ill" because of their sexualities or gender identities or make disparaging remarks about other marginalized groups like immigrants, for example. Meta is also getting rid of its fact-checkers in favor of a Community Notes-style program to combat what Zuck believes is a "bias" among fact-checkers. The Meta CEO also recently accused Biden administration officials of screaming and cursing at Facebook staff.
Some Meta employees are concerned they might be laid off for not having the "masculine energy" Zuckerberg lauded in a recent interview with Joe Rogan, according to internal message board posts. Other staff have already raised concerns about Meta saying goodbye to policies like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Meta has recently ditched its DEI department and is moving its chief diversity officer into a position that instead focuses on "accessibility and engagement," which has led some former employees to openly criticize this decision.
Meta has laid off staff every year since at least 2022, with 11,000 laid off that year and another 10,000 in 2023. Last year, it laid off even more staff at WhatsApp and Instagram, and its Oversight Board's support staff also reportedly faced cuts.