Mark Zuckerberg is apparently issuing an ultimatum to a number of Meta’s middle managers: cease managing other employees and find something more constructive to do, or quit.
The layoffs, called to internally as “flattening,” are occurring only days after Zuckerberg announced a companywide “year of efficiency” in 2023 and hinted at additional spending cuts.
People familiar with the subject told Bloomberg that meta managers and directors targeted by the program will be told to transfer to a “individual contributor” role at the company – such as coding, design, or research – or leave the organization entirely. Other employees will no longer be under the supervision of the supervisors.
Executives are scheduled to inform affected employees in the coming weeks, according to the publication’s sources. It is anticipated that any job cuts will be implemented gradually and on a case-by-case basis apart from the annual review process.
According to the publication, several Meta employees have voiced support for alterations to the company’s leadership structure, which Zuckerberg and others have deemed to have been too cumbersome and ineffective.
As part of its ongoing cost-cutting drive, which includes a massive round of layoffs in November, Meta is planning to reduce its middle management. Zuckerberg cited excessively aggressive hiring methods and deteriorating economic conditions for Meta’s decision to eliminate nearly 11,000 positions, or around 13% of its total staff.
Since the beginning of the year, Meta’s stock price has risen 53% as a result of investors’ favorable response to the reductions.
It is unknown how many middle managers will be required to transition to individual jobs.
Last week, during the company’s second-quarter results call, Zuckerberg spoke explicitly about his plans to reduce middle management.
Zuckerberg stated, “We’re working on flattening our organizational structure and removing some layers of middle management to make decisions more quickly, as well as deploying AI tools to make our engineers more productive.”
“As part of this, we will be more proactive about cutting projects that aren’t performing or may no longer be as important,” he continued. “However, my primary focus is on improving the efficiency with which we execute our highest priorities.”
Last November, Meta was criticized for its massive layoffs, which occurred after the business invested billions of dollars in a metaverse venture that failed to garner much public interest.
As reported by The Post at the time, some terminated employees were unhappy because Meta informed them of the layoffs by email. One worker reported that she was terminated despite being eight months pregnant.