Meta preparing for fresh round of job cuts

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc is planning a fresh round of job cuts in a reorganisation and downsizing effort that could affect thousands of workers, the Washington Post has reported.

Last year, the social media company let go 13 per cent of its workforce - more than 11,000 employees - as it grappled with soaring costs and a weak advertising market.

Meta now plans to push some leaders into lower-level roles without direct reports, flattening the layers of management between top boss Mark Zuckerberg and the company's interns, the Washington Post reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Meta declined a Reuters request for comment, but spokesperson Andy Stone in a series of tweets cited several previous statements by Zuckerberg suggesting that more cuts were on the way.

Zuckerberg told investors earlier this month that last year's layoffs were "the beginning of our focus on efficiency and not the end". He said he would work on "flattening our org structure and removing some layers of middle management".

Last year's layoffs were the first in Meta's 18-year history. Other tech companies have cut thousands of jobs, including Google parent Alphabet Inc, Microsoft Corp and Snap Inc.

Meta aggressively hired during the COVID pandemic to meet a surge in social media usage by stuck-at-home consumers. But business suffered in 2022 as advertisers pulled the plug on spending in the face of rapidly rising interest rates.

Meta, once worth more than $1 trillion, is now valued at $446 billion. Meta shares were down about 0.5 per cent on Wednesday.

The company has said it would also reduce office space, lower discretionary spending and extend a hiring freeze into 2023 to rein in expenses.

More than 100,000 layoffs were announced at US companies in January, led by technology companies, according to a report from employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.