Facebook owner Meta announces 11,000 job losses
But metaverse will remain "high priority growth area".
Meta, the owner of Facebook and maker of Meta Quest VR headsets, will cut 11,000 jobs in a deep effort to restructure its business, boss Mark Zuckerberg announced today.
The move will see Meta's overall workforce shrink by 13 percent, with some areas of the business impacted more than others.
Specifically how this will impact the company's development of Meta Quest remains unclear, though Zuckerberg stated today that the company's "long-term vision for the metaverse" remained one of a small number of "high priority growth areas".
In a message sent to all Meta employees and then subsequently posted online, Zuckerberg blamed the deep job cuts on a reversal of online commerce trends following Covid lockdowns, increased competition (likely the rise of TikTok), and the wider economic downturn.
Affected employees had their access to Meta systems restricted as of today, excluding email. Those set to lose their jobs in the US will receieve 16 weeks pay plus two additional weeks per year of service at Meta, plus six months of paid healthcare costs.
Meta will additionally reduce hiring and shrink the business' office space.
"This is a sad moment, and there's no way around that," Zuckerberg continued. "To those who are leaving, I want to thank you again for everything you’ve put into this place. We would not be where we are today without your hard work, and I'm grateful for your contributions.
"To those who are staying, I know this is a difficult time for you too. Not only are we saying goodbye to people we've worked closely with, but many of you also feel uncertainty about the future. I want you to know that we're making these decisions to make sure our future is strong."
Zuckerberg concluded by stating he believed Meta was "deeply underestimated as a company today" as its services were used by billions of people, and it was now focused on developing "technology to define the future of social connection and the next computing platform".