11/08/2022

Meta Expected to Join Tech Industry’s Growing List of Layoffs

Thousands of expected job cuts by Facebook’s parent

In recent weeks, several big-name technology companies have announced staff cuts or hiring freezes. Now, following months of warnings from executives, Facebook's parent is poised to join them with large-scale layoffs, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the company's strategy.

After years of soaring profits and seemingly endless success, Silicon Valley giants have been forced to manage their resources in an uncertain economic environment. Some digital advertisers are pulling back on spending as rising inflation has created market instability. While many internet platforms experienced a boom during the pandemic when people stayed home to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, vaccines and fewer government-imposed shutdowns have given marketers and users offline alternatives to social media.

Meta, in particular, is facing more competition for advertising dollars and users from newer social media rivals such as TikTok and Snapchat. And the targeted advertising methods that turned Meta into an economic behemoth took a hit last year when Apple introduced privacy restrictions that forced app makers to explicitly ask users if they could track their activity across the internet — a request many rebuffed.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.