Meta has initiated the final round of layoffs, with approximately 6000 positions being laid off

Cailian News Agency, May 25th (Editor Niu Zhanlin)According to Meta employees and insiders, Meta began the final round of layoffs on Wednesday, as part of its announced plan to lay off 10000 positions in March.

Since November last year, the parent company of Facebook has announced that it will lay off 21000 employees, accounting for nearly a quarter of its total workforce. That month, Meta took the lead in announcing 11000 layoffs, marking the beginning of a wave of layoffs for technology companies including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Apple.

In April of this year, Meta resumed its company wide layoffs, mainly involving engineers and other technical personnel, with a total of 4000 layoffs.

On Wednesday, the latest and final round of layoffs began, with the expected main layoffs of 6000 members from the Meta business unit. On the same day, some Meta employees responsible for advertising sales, marketing, and collaboration teams announced on LinkedIn that they had been laid off, which is also in line with the company's plan.

Meta declined to comment, but its CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously stated that layoffs in the company's business unit would begin at the end of May.

Zuckerberg once told analysts that 2023 will be a "year of efficiency" for company management. In a challenging economy and a weak digital advertising market, he is determined to make the company stronger and more flexible, so the company must "slim down".

He said in an email, "In history, we have often seen faster growth every year, so we have resources to invest in new products. But last year, there was a warning that people must show humility. We should be prepared, as the reality brought about by the new economy may last for several years

A month ago, Zuckerberg announced that he did not rule out the possibility of further layoffs in the future and said he expected the recruitment speed of the social media company to not be as fast as before the layoffs began at the end of last year.

According to Meta's first quarter report for the 2023 fiscal year, the company experienced its first year-on-year growth since the third quarter, far exceeding analysts' expectations. Zuckerberg pointed out, "We will continue to focus on the fields of artificial intelligence and virtual worlds. These two technologies are interrelated, and metaverse technology will also help achieve artificial intelligence

Last year, Meta's stock price shrank by two-thirds, and its value has rebounded significantly since the beginning of this year. Investors are satisfied with the company's layoff measures and bets in the field of artificial intelligence. As of Wednesday, Meta's stock price surged more than 100% this year to $246.74.