Facebook and Instagram owner Meta will be gearing up for a busy rest of the year. At least according to the information provided by the Reuters agency, which cites the statements of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the company, in the weekly question and answer session with the workers.
The agency will have obtained the audio of the meeting, where Mark Zuckerberg will have prepared the employees for the commotion that is coming. “We live in serious times and the headwinds are strong,” Zuckerberg warned. “If I had to bet, I would say that this could be one of the worst accidents that we have seen in our recent history,” warned the CEO of the company.
The current economic environment, marked by inflation and rising interest rates, is putting pressure on several companies, especially in the technology sector. In the case of Meta, the devaluation of the company’s shares is around 52% up to this point in the year.
These “serious times” should already be reflected in hiring plans. Reuters claims Zuckerberg may have told employees that the company will cut plans to hire engineers by at least 30% this year. If the plan for 2022 was to hire 10,000 engineers, Zuckerberg said the goal now will be between 6,000 and 7,000 engineers.
Meta has already confirmed that it has, in fact, been slowing down the number of hires in recent months. But Mark Zuckerberg will also have said that there will be too many people in the company. “Realistically, there are probably a number of people in the company who shouldn’t be here,” quotes Reuters.
“My hope is that by increasing the targets, making them more aggressive, and increasing the pressure [para os trabalhadores] some decide that this place is not for you, and for me, that self-selection is fine,” Zuckerberg said.
This information comes to light after statements by Chris Cox were known, in an internal company memorandum, cited by media such as Reuters and The Verge. In that speech, Chris Cox, who leads Meta’s product area, said the company “has to run leaner, run harder, and have better execution teams.” “We have to function smoothly in a slower growing environment where teams don’t have to expect a huge influx of new engineers or budget.”
The warnings from Meta’s strongest names come months after the company revealed in February that in the fourth quarter of 2021 it had lost half a million active users, the first user loss in the company’s 18-year history. In the commentary accompanying these results, Zuckerberg blamed intense competition from apps like TikTok, more appealing to a younger audience.
Facebook loses users for the first time. Meta shares fall more than 20%
Source: Observadora
