Facebook Parent Meta Plans Additional Layoffs in Coming Weeks: Report

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms is planning additional layoffs to be announced in multiple rounds over the next few months, which could match the 13 percent job cut tally from last year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing people familiar with the matter.

Meta let go of 11,000 employees four months ago and would be the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs.

The first wave of the new cuts would be announced next week and are likely to hit non-engineering roles the hardest, according to the report.

The company is also expected to shut down some projects and teams in conjunction with these cuts, the report added.

Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

In other news, Meta Platforms said on Friday it is exploring strategic alternatives for customer service company Kustomer that it acquired in a process ending last year.

"We are currently exploring strategic alternatives for Kustomer and will continue to support Kustomer's product and customer base throughout this process," the Facebook owner said in an emailed statement to Reuters, without providing additional details on the alternatives.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news on Friday, said Meta is planning to divest Kustomer as it looks to looks to refocus on its core business, citing the company and people familiar with the planned deal.

Kustomer sells CRM software for businesses to communicate with consumers by phone, email, text messages, WhatsApp, Instagram and other channels. It had seen a usage soar during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meta has made the decision to focus on its fastest growing business messaging offerings, including the monetization opportunity for WhatsApp in light of the company's "efficiency efforts," the company said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023