Meta is cutting about 5% of its staff through performance-based layoffs and plans to hire new people to fill its roles this year, according to an internal memo sent to all employees.
In September, Meta employed around 72,000 people, so a 5% reduction could affect approximately 3,600 jobs. “I decided to raise the bar on performance management and fire low performers more quickly,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the note posted to an internal message board and seen by Bloomberg News.
“Typically, we manage the departure of people who are not meeting expectations over the course of a year,” he said, “but now we will be making performance-based cuts more extensively during this cycle.”
Continues after advertising
Zuckerberg declared 2023 the company’s “year of efficiency” and announced plans to eliminate 10,000 positions. However, he made it clear in his latest memo that the performance-based cuts are intended to accelerate Meta’s performance management process and that the roles would be filled again in 2025.
On the same note, the CEO of Facebook’s parent company said he is positioning the company for what he hopes will be an “intense year” focused on AI, smart glasses and the future of social networks.
Target expects to achieve 10% “unregretted terminations” by the end of the current performance cycle, which includes approximately 5% of unregretted terminations from last year, according to a separate message sent to company managers. “This means we are targeting the departure of approximately 5% more of our current employees who have been with the company long enough to receive a performance review,” the company said.
Continues after advertising
Zuckerberg informed employees that the company “will provide generous severance pay.” Affected U.S.-based employees must be notified on February 10, with those outside the U.S. being notified at a later date.
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
