Mark Zuckerberg Issues Apology to Laid-Off Meta Employees; “I Want to Take Accountability”

Meta Platforms Inc. will eliminate more than 11,000 employees in the company’s first mass layoff in its 18-year history.

Facebook founder and Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced the shocking job cuts on Wednesday, expressing remorse and uncertainty regarding the future of employees. Zuckerberg took sole responsibility for the layoff and offered an apology to those left jobless.

“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,” he wrote in the statement shared on the Meta website and sent to workers.

The tech giant’s recruiting team will be the most impacted department since Meta plans to hire fewer people next year. Its real estate unit will also face downsizing, along with its business teams. Budget cuts are the primary reason for the staff reduction. Zuckerberg is looking to save in nearly every area, with some staffers being forced to share desks moving forward.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has taken a large financial hit due to the decline of digital marketing. Additionally, Zuckerberg’s multi-billion investment in the Metaverse has set him back a bit, spending at least $2 billion to acquire the virtual reality headset company, Oculus in 2014. This year, the company has spent over $9 billion in total on its virtual reality, which has yet to be fully developed.

Those left unemployed will receive a severance package consisting of 16 weeks of pay and an additional two weeks for every year of service. Meta will continue to cover health insurance for six months.