Meta Platforms Freezes Hiring, Shuts 6,000 Vacancies Before Major Layoffs

On May 20, Meta will lay off 10% of its employees. This is all a part of a larger reorganisation that the company is undergoing in response to its increasing emphasis on AI and automation. The corporation is planning to implement significant organisational changes to restructure workflows around AI-driven operations at the same time, as stated in an internal memo. This is among the biggest shakeups to the company's staff that the giant of social networks has seen recently.

Janelle Gale, chief people officer at Meta, announced the company's intentions to shift nearly 7,000 workers into new AI-focused projects in a memo. Furthermore, in an effort to create leaner operational structures, the firm will also be removing management layers.

Major Developments Happening in Meta

Layoffs related to artificial intelligence have been common among large US companies this year, particularly in the tech industry, as these most recent layoffs show. A total of 20% of Mark Zuckerberg's employees will be let go from the company. A small number of transfers have already taken place, and on May 20th, other employees will receive their notifications. Additionally, on May 20, employees in North America were requested to work remotely.

In an earlier memo, Gale informed employees that the company has also closed an additional 6,000 open roles as part of the process. Company filings indicate that as of the end of March, Meta employed a total of 77,986 people. Organisational leaders, according to Gale's report, integrated AI native design principles into their newly formed organisational structures while they implemented the changes. At this point in the company's evolution, many organisations can benefit from a flatter organisational structure, with smaller teams of pods or cohorts, which allows for greater autonomy and productivity, Gale mentioned.

Strong Backlash From Meta Employees

Staff members have begun to push back against the changes. Angry employees have taken to Meta's internal platform, Workplace, and distributed protest fliers around the office. It has been reported that the company is allegedly using mouse-tracking software to train AI systems to mimic human-computer interactions. Additionally, over 1,000 employees have signed a petition opposing this deployment.

After hearing about the layoffs for weeks, some workers felt that executives should have spoken out about the reorganisation. Workers at the time allegedly used elephant images as responses to leadership's Workplace posts alluded to the "elephant in the room" as they were becoming increasingly anxious about job losses and organisational uncertainty. Regarding the reorganisation plans, Meta has remained silent.