TechDigits

Tech news
Friday, Apr 26, 2024

The 6 big takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg's lengthy layoffs post

The 6 big takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg's lengthy layoffs post

Meta is shrinking, investing in AI, and creating an "optimal ratio of engineers" compared to other roles, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a long post.
Meta is slashing both jobs and projects to cut costs

With the 10,000 layoffs, Meta wants to make its chain "flatter" by making more managers "individual contributors," according to the post. Zuckerberg also said that managers should have few reports, 10 max.

The layoffs "will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues who have been part of our success," he acknowledged.

Zuckerberg also described less important projects as a potential burden on personnel resources and other logistics like IT support and infrastructure like even laptops, which signaled a focus on the company's spending.

"Indirect costs compound and it's easy to underestimate them," he wrote.

Jobs in recruiting, tech, and business will be hit, but Zuckerberg wants to 'keep technology the main thing' for Meta

As Meta slows hiring, it will lay off members in its recruiting department, Zuckerberg wrote. Those employees will be among the first to learn their fates at the company as soon as Wednesday, he said.

Others will be informed in the coming months — those on the company's tech teams will hear in April, while those laid off from business teams will learn about it in May, he wrote.

Zuckerberg also said the company was striving for a more "optimal ratio of engineers to other roles," though he didn't put a number to it.

Some of the restructuring moves would take longer to implement, he said, noting that international employees, for instance, would be on a separate schedule.

"In a small number of cases, it may take through the end of the year to complete these changes," he said.

Meta has big AI plans

Zuckerberg said that artificial intelligence marks the company's "single largest investment," and added that the company wants it in "every one of our products."

Amid the frenzy over OpenAI's ChatGPT and similar versions of generative AI tools since then, Meta last month unveiled its own new AI model called "LLaMA," which it said was meant to support more research into such tools.

"We have the infrastructure to do this at unprecedented scale and I think the experiences it enables will be amazing," Zuckerberg wrote on Tuesday.

The move appears to mark a shift from his previously hyped metaverse, often described as a kind of virtual digital world. But he said on Tuesday that "building the metaverse and shaping the next generation of computing platforms also remains central to defining the future of social connection."

Zuckerberg warns the economy could stay rough for a while

"At this point, I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that thisnew economic reality will continue for many years," he wrote, pointing to factors often cited for the turmoil facing companies and markets, including rising interest rates and "geopolitical instability."

"Given this outlook, we'll need to operate more efficiently than our previous headcount reduction to ensure success," he wrote.

Meta found that early-career engineers may do better working in person more often

Zuckerberg wrote that Meta reviewed its "performance data" and found that early-career engineers were able to do better if they worked with colleagues in person "at least three days a week."

Zuckerberg also added that the analysis "requires further study." The company allows those who can work remotely to apply to do that, while others mostly work in the office, Insider has reported.

Morale is going to take a hit

"I also recognize that the idea of upcoming org changes creates uncertainty and stress," he wrote. "My hope is to make these org changes as soon as possible in the year so we can get past this period of uncertainty and focus on the critical work ahead."

A Meta spokesperson declined to comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
0:00
0:00
Close
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
Melinda French Gates Advocates for Increased Female Representation in AI to Prevent Bias
Snapchat+ gains 4 million paying subscribers in its first year
Apple Makes History as the First Public Company Valued at $3 Trillion
Elon Musk Implements Twitter Limits to Tackle Data Scraping, but Faces Criticism for Technical Misunderstanding
EU and UK's Slow Electric Vehicle Adoption Raises Questions About the Transition to Green Mobility
Top Companies Express Concerns Over Europe's Proposed AI Law, Citing Competitiveness and Investment Risks
Meta Unveils Insights on AI Usage in Facebook and Instagram, Amid Growing Calls for Transparency
Crypto Scams Against Seniors Soar by 78% in 2022, Experts Urge Vigilance
The End of an Era: National Geographic Dismisses Last of Its Staff Writers
Shield Your Wallet: The Perils of Wireless Credit Card Theft
Harvard Scientist Who Studies Honesty Accused Of Data Fraud, Put On Leave
Putting an End to the Subscription Snare: The Battle Against Unwitting Commitments
The Legal Perils of AI: Lawyer Faces Sanctions for Relying on Fictional Cases Generated by Chatbot
ChatGPT’s "Grandma Exploit": Ingenious Hack Exposes Loophole in AI, Generates Free Software Codes
The Disney Downturn: A Near Billion-Dollar Box Office Blow for the House of Mouse
A Digital Showdown: Canada Challenges Tech Giants with The Online News Act, Meta Strikes Back
Distress in the Depths: Submersible and Passengers Missing in Titanic Wreckage Expedition
Mark Zuckerberg stealing another idea: Twitter
European Union's AI Regulations Risk Self-Sabotage, Cautions smart and brave Venture Capitalist Joe Lonsdale
Nvidia GPUs are so hard to get that rich venture capitalists are buying them for the startups they invest in
Chinese car exports surge
Reddit Blackout: Thousands of Communities Protest "Ludicrous" Pricing Changes
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
×