Source: Meta
The long-rumoured Meta layoff has happened, and several Canadian employees of the company were included. We don't have a specific number of how many were affected, but 11,000 people from the company were laid off globally. Meta announced this 13% workforce cut in hopes to become "leaner and more efficient."
Canadian staff members in Meta's communications, client relations, human resources, and creative partnerships were among those who posted about their layoffs on LinkedIn. The cuts were a result of a miscalculation on the growth of e-commerce, which many tech companies have made. The initial surge during the pandemic had CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his team making growth predictions that didn't pan out.
The layoffs also impacts hiring. Meta will freeze hiring for the first quarter, even as it announced plans before to higher over 2,500 office and remote workers over the next five years in the country and situate many of them in a Toronto engineering hub. The company was also due to leave behind its MaRS Discovery District office for a new home at an undisclosed location.
Spokesperson Alex Kucharski said the company "remained committed to Canada" and it sees the expansion as a "long term one planned over a number of years."