Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp will lay off 11,000 employees

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced that it will cut 13% of its staff.

In total, 11,000 employees will be laid off from its global payroll of 87,000 people.

In a statement, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the cuts were "some of the hardest changes we've made in Meta's history."

"I know this is difficult for everyone, and I am especially sorry to those affected," he wrote in a statement.

Zuckerberg attributed the layoffs to a slowing economy, increased competition and declining advertising revenue, though he took full responsibility for the situation.

The news follows major layoffs at Twitter, which cut nearly half its workforce, and at other tech companies like Microsoft.

Reuters indicated that Zuckerberg is one of the many executives who have sounded the alarm about a possible recession in the US economy, but the news agency added that some of the company's problems have been self-inflicted, such as the risky bet in the virtual world. or metaverse.
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Analysis by Zoe Kleinman, technology editor

It's the second round of big tech layoffs in a week, but the tone of Meta's statement was very different from Elon Musk's upbeat defense of his decision to cut half of Twitter's workforce on Friday.

While Musk said the company had no choice because it was losing millions of dollars every day, Mark Zuckerberg's statement was very contrite. He took responsibility, he said, and he was sorry.

If you know Zuckerberg, you will know that this is not characteristic: he is not known for being a "people person" and his fixation is usually work. He no longer has his former COO Sheryl Sandberg by his side to help calm the waters.

He is literally staking his own dollars, as well as his company's, on creating the metaverse, a virtual world in which he believes we will all spend our time working and playing in the future.

It could be five or 10 years before this comes to fruition. If he stands his ground and he's right, Meta will bounce back and, he hopes, become the king of the new internet generation.
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Priorities

Zuckerberg noted that the company would now focus on high-priority growth areas such as artificial intelligence, advertising, and "our long-term vision for the metaverse."

Meta will also reduce costs in other areas, including reducing its building and office expenses and increasing the use of shared desks.

Affected Meta employees will receive an email soon, he said, and will have an opportunity to ask questions.

US employees will receive severance pay equal to 16 weeks of pay plus one week for each year worked. Additional benefits will also include continuing to provide family health insurance for six months.

Support outside the US will be similar, but there will be a separate termination process to account for local labor laws.