Meta Lays Off 11,000 Employees -- 13% of Workforce
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced 11,000 job cuts, calling it "the most difficult changes we've made in Meta's history," as the company faced declining ad revenue, a cratering stock price, and massive metaverse spending.
Why Did This Happen?
Apple's iOS App Tracking Transparency changes wiped an estimated $10 billion from annual ad revenue
TikTok siphoned attention and advertising dollars from Facebook and Instagram, especially among younger demographics
Reality Labs metaverse division was burning over $10 billion annually with no clear path to profitability
Aggressive 2020-2021 hiring binge assumed sustained pandemic-level engagement growth
Stock price had fallen over 70% from its peak, putting intense pressure on leadership to cut costs
Impact Analysis
The layoffs marked Meta's first-ever mass workforce reduction and triggered Zuckerberg's "Year of Efficiency" in 2023, which brought an additional 10,000 cuts. The company flattened management layers, killed lower-priority products like Portal, and redirected resources toward Reels and AI. Meta's stock ultimately recovered by over 300% as margins expanded.
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