Like many other industries, the tech sector is feeling the brunt of the global economic slowdown this year. Meta has certainly not been spared. Reports in May suggested the company would slow its hiring pace this year, and now Meta has put all hiring on hold.
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CEO Mark Zuckerberg is also said to have told staff that more restructuring and cuts are likely coming. “I had hoped that the economy would have stabilized more by now, but from what we’re seeing it doesn’t look like it has yet, so we want to proceed somewhat conservatively,” Zuckerberg reportedly told employees.
The company plans to cut budgets for most of its teams, according to Bloomberg. Zuckerberg is said to be leaving headcount decisions up to team leaders. The measures could include moving people to other teams and not hiring replacements for people who leave.
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“Given ongoing trends, this is even more relevant now than it was last quarter,” Zuckerberg said at the time. “Our plan is to steadily reduce headcount growth over the next year. Many teams are going to shrink so we can shift energy to other areas, and I wanted to give our leaders the ability to decide within their teams where to double down, where to replenish attrition, and where to restructure teams, minimizing thrash on long-term initiatives.”
In an earnings report, Meta revealed that revenue fell one percent from a year earlier. It is the first time the company has reported a revenue decline.
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The hiring freeze news follows a report last week that suggested Meta had been quietly laying off some employees rather than making formal layoffs. In July, it emerged that the company had asked team leaders to identify “underperformers” before potentially reducing staff. The company is said to have cut costs on other fronts, such as cutting contractors and halting some projects at its Meta Reality Labs division. These reportedly include a dual- camera smartwatch .
