New Delhi: Meta, owner of popular social networks Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, initiates major layoffs affecting almost 8,000 company employees globally. The restructuring measures undertaken by the corporation are intended to change its focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI), reduce the overall cost structure, and reorganize its teams accordingly.
As reports suggest, Meta is laying off 10% of its global work force. Currently, Meta employs more than 78,000 people in different countries. The corporation is also moving thousands of employees to new positions dedicated to AI. Meanwhile, the tech giant spends huge amounts of money to develop technologies related to AI, create new data centers, and invest in advanced computer hardware.
Termination letters sent to employees arrived early in the morning. Reportedly, Meta asked those who remained at workplaces to go on remote working mode to avoid chaos at offices. Employees’ emails reportedly indicated that soon after receiving notifications, they were to lose access to their offices and corporate networks. One particular line from an email addressed to laid-off employees that received considerable attention on social media said that those who worked at offices were to leave the workplace with personal property and return home.
Meta offers its employees a number of severance packages. Affected US workers receive 16 weeks of base salary plus additional two weeks per each year spent working for the company. The company also covers health care for some months. In addition, Meta offers laid-off employees assistance in job searching.
The recent Meta layoffs occur at a time when the corporation makes huge investments into developing AI-related technologies and infrastructure. The company expects to allocate several billions of dollars in building servers, chip sets, and data centers necessary to produce the AI-related products and services in future. Moreover, CEO of the company, Mark Zuckerberg, emphasizes the importance of AI for Meta.
The ongoing competition and development trends of tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI are another factor prompting Meta to shift its focus towards AI. As the tech giants expand in AI, tech companies should restructure their operations and invest more in this area.
Nevertheless, Meta is a powerful organization that earned more than $200 billion in 2022 and reported billions of dollars in profit. Thus, the current restructuring measures do not result from financial problems but rather are related to high expenses connected with the development of AI and the necessity to optimize operations and save on something. Layoffs cause serious concerns among workers and industry observers. Some employees note that morale at workplaces has dropped sharply, mainly because layoffs take place at a time when the company reports high incomes. Besides, there is no lack of discussions on how AI can affect employment in the global technology industry.
Industry experts suggest that what happens at Meta is only a step in a broader industry-wide trend. In the past two years, numerous technology companies have conducted downsizing procedures in favor of AI-based investments. Currently, corporations tend to focus on small teams of highly qualified specialists capable of creating innovative AI-driven products.
