Meta is making news again, but for the wrong reasons. The year is seemingly off to a rocky start, with major tech corporations announcing performance-based job cuts across their workforces. Last week, Microsoft announced performance-based job cuts across its departments, including the security division. The job cuts will reportedly impact less than 1% of Microsoft's workforce.
And now, Meta is joining the fray with plans to make performance-based cuts, slated to impact approximately 5% of its workforce based on performance. According to an internal memo exclusively obtained by Bloomberg, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated:
“We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle."
Mark Zuckerberg disclosed that the move would "raise the bar" on performance management, potentially expediting the process of identifying and moving out low-performers.
Aside from the performance-based job cuts, Meta is also set to cut another 5% of its workforce. Bloomberg notes the second round of job cuts will impact employees “who have been with the company long enough to receive a performance rating,”
As highlighted by Business Insider, two Meta employees revealed that the company started its annual performance review process last week, with employees submitting self-reviews, peer reviews, and manager reviews. US-based employees impacted by the job cuts will be notified by February 10, 2025. According to Hillary Champion, the director of people development growth programs at Meta, affected employees will also "receive generous severance packages, in line with previous cuts. "
Elsewhere, the Facebook maker recently announced its plans to scrap its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team alongside the diversity-focused programs in its hiring process. The company also announced changes to its moderation policies, including ending its third-party fact-checking program in favor of Elon Musk X's Community Notes platform.
READ MORE: Mark Zuckerberg says mid-level AI engineers will take over coding jobs at Meta in 2025
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's full internal memo announcing the performance-based job cuts is highlighted below:
"Meta is working on building some of the most important technologies of the world. AI, glasses as the next computing platform and the future of social media. This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams.
I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster. We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle, with the intention of back filling these roles in 2025. We won’t manage out everyone who didn’t meet expectations for the last period if we’re optimistic about their future performance, and for those we do let go, we’ll provide generous severance in line with what we provided with previous cuts.
We’ll follow up with more guidance for managers ahead of calibrations. People who are impacted will be notified on February 10 or later for those outside the U.S."
