Meta has delayed finalizing various team budgets while preparing for new job cuts as Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to contain costs in a “year of efficiency” caused disruption at the social media company.
Two Meta employees familiar with the situation told the Financial Times that there had been a lack of clarity about the budget or future headcount in recent weeks. As a result, staff have complained that “zero work” has been done because managers can’t plan for the upcoming workload, employees say.
Projects and decisions that used to take days to sign now take about a month in some cases, even in priority areas including the metaverse and advertising, the people said.
The specific budget will usually be finalized by the end of the year, one of the people added.
“Honestly, it’s still crowded,” said one employee. “The year of efficiency begins with many people being paid to do nothing.”
It comes as Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, plans more job cuts after laying off 11,000 employees – around 13 percent of its workforce – in November. Three employees said staff were demotivated and demoralized because of the cuts and uncertainty.
Zuckerberg announced earlier this month that the social media company would continue to fight controlled costs under its new mantra of “years of efficiency”. Meta Research’s improved fourth-quarter results sent the stock up 18 percent, adding $88bn to its market value.
Over the past year, Big Tech stocks, especially those that rely on advertising dollars, have seen a dramatic sell-off amid tough macroeconomic conditions and marketers tightening budgets. This has led to job cuts across the industry, as tech bosses admit they are overextended during the digital boom of the coronavirus pandemic.
Wall Street investors last year expressed frustration with Meta’s finances, including a $10 billion annual investment into the metaverse and a bloated head count, as the economic downturn began to eat into earnings.
Despite the staff reductions in November, which were the most dramatic layoffs in Meta’s history, further cuts are expected around March, as the company is currently undergoing a staff performance review, three current and former employees said.
That is expected around March, as the company is currently undergoing a staff performance review, one of the people said.
In an earnings call with analysts last week, Zuckerberg said: “Next, we’re working on our organizational structure and removing some layers in middle management to make decisions faster.” He also said the company would be “more proactive” about cutting underperforming or low-priority projects.
In some cases, managers have been asked to move into non-managing roles, known as individual contributor roles, or to leave the company, according to one of the people and first reported by Bloomberg.
Dubbed “flattening” internally, some employees worry that those who switch roles will be demoted, the person said. Another staffer said it was called “calibration”, where middle and senior managers would have their jobs ranked and joined.
Meta declined to comment.