Meta Platforms slashes hiring plans, girds for 'fierce' headwinds

Facebook-owner Meta Platforms has cut plans to hire engineers by at least 30 per cent this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Thursday, as he warned them to brace for a deep economic downturn.

“If I had to bet, I'd say that this might be one of the worst downturns that we've seen in recent history,” Zuckerberg told workers in a weekly employee Q&A session, audio of which was heard by Reuters. Meta has reduced its target for hiring engineers in 2022 to around 6,000-7,000, down from an initial plan to hire about 10,000 new engineers, Zuckerberg said.

Meta confirmed hiring pauses in broad terms last month, but exact figures have not previously been reported.

In addition to reducing hiring, he said, the company was leaving certain positions unfilled in response to attrition and “turning up the heat” on performance management to weed out staffers unable to meet more aggressive goals.

“Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn’t be here,” Zuckerberg said.

The social media and technology company is bracing for a leaner second half of the year.