Meta laid off 11,000 employees (or 13% of its workforce) amid falling
revenues from advertising and e-commerce. The company is also
considering other cost-cutting measures and might close a few offices.
Investors have shown apprehension towards the company’s focus on
creating a metaverse at the expense of the rest of the business. This can
be reflected in the total market capitalisation of the company, which has
fallen from $1 tn in September 2021 to now around $270 bn.
Not just Meta, most other Tech companies in the US are trimming staff
and have halted hiring. Many of these tech companies went on a hiring
spree during the pandemic. A risk of global recession, exacerbated by the
Russia-Ukraine war and inflation, has increased pressure on the tech
industry. Also, these companies face pressure on the back of higher
interest rates, sluggish consumer spending and a strong dollar.
Even as the economy slows, the labour market has rapidly recovered.
Employers added 261,000 jobs in October, beating economists’
predictions. Several economists noted that layoffs at these tech
companies could be relatively self-contained events, related more to their
own corporate restructurings than the overall economic outlook