It seems that bad days are ahead for Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg. What he previously declared as the “Year of Efficiency” has gotten off to a rocky start as staffers at Meta said plans to cut costs and lay off more employees have left them “demoralized.”
Earlier, the Meta CEO said as part of the release of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report, “Our management theme for 2023 is the ‘Year of Efficiency’ and we’re focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization.”
But for the workers at Facebook’s parent company, this is not what is happening. Here’s the scoop.
‘Getting paid to do nothing’
Managers at Meta Platforms, Inc. expressed growing frustrations over the uncertainty that has permeated the company’s headquarters in California in recent weeks. Senior management has delayed the approval of necessary budgets, resulting in normal workflow disruption.
“Honestly, it’s still a mess,” one Meta employee spoke to Financial Times over the weekend. “The year of efficiency is kicking off with a bunch of people getting paid to do nothing.”
Last week, the Meta CEO’s declaration that the company would shift to become a leaner firm with a reduced headcount won praise from Wall Street investors. Still, within the company, there are widespread confusion and anger.
Meta staffers told Financial Times “zero work” is getting done. Furthermore, decisions that usually just take days to approve now take weeks or months, including in some of the company’s key sectors, such as advertising and the metaverse.
An earlier report on The Motley Fool said Zuckerberg does not want to talk about the metaverse anymore and that his focus is seemingly shifting back to the core business. That is, Meta’s family of apps – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
Declining revenue
It could be remembered that in November, Meta shed about 13 percent of its workforce worldwide, consisting of around 87,000 employees, handing pink slips to over 11,000 workers.
The company had also been reeling from declined revenue, losses in its fledging metaverse sector, and increased competition from social media upstart TikTok, which has greatly attracted Gen Z users.
Also, Meta’s stock fell by over 70 percent last year as the company lost billions in its metaverse investments.
The CEO also cited the challenging macroeconomic environment hamstringing the company. On an earnings call last week, he told analysts that more belt-tightening was in the offing at Meta.
