In the latest turn of events in the tech world, Facebook parent Meta has given poor performance reviews to thousands of employees, increasing fears that the tech behemoth could be preparing for yet another wave of job cuts after laying off 11,000 employees.
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According to a recently published report in The Wall Street Journal, Meta ranked around 7,000 employees as “subpar” in recent performance reviews. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram also did away with a bonus metric, as per the report.
Bloomberg reported that these amendments come after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared 2023 the “year of efficiency” in a sign that the social media giant is looking forward to cut off expenses and increase speed.
Citing a source who told the paper, Bloomberg reported that low performance ratings could cause more employees to leave the company. These poor reviews could signify bad news for Meta employees who are weary of the fact that the company could be preparing for another round of downsizing it’s workforce. Meta laid off 13 per cent of its entire workforce, or about 11,000 employees, late last year.
Addressing the current performance reviews sent out to employees, a Meta spokesperson told WSJ: “We’ve always had a goal-based culture of high performance, and our review process is intended to incentivize long-term thinking and high-quality work, while helping employees get actionable feedback.”
A security guard stands watch by the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc in Mountain View, California, U.S. November 9, 2022. REUTERS/ Peter DaSilva/ File Photo
In the meantime, the Financial Times reported last week that Meta has delayed finalising the budgets of multiple teams as it prepares a fresh round of layoffs.
Since November 2022, layoffs by the US tech industry have grabbed headlines. Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon have together slacked off approximately 200,000 IT professionals—at least 30 per cent of them Indians on H-1B and L1 visas—to leave. Google will also be letting go of more employees in regions other than India.
Although, the current economic slowdown and possibility of recession in the market is likely to prompt companies to cut back on non-essential expenses, including marketing and social media management. The mass layoffs that started with tech firms, especially startups in 2022, have now been spilling over to several others including financial companies that slashed jobs in recent months. These include major Wall Street banks, asset managers and fintechs as they struggle to stave off macroeconomic challenges that have pressured consumers and soured demand in several mainstay business units.
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