Meta is set to lay off over 3,600 employees, or roughly 5% of its “lowest performers.” In an internal memo posted on the company’s Workplace forum on Tuesday, Jan. 14, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 2025 will be an “intense year” for Meta, and he wants to “make sure we have the best people on our teams,” according to CNBC. “Meta is working on building some of the most important technologies of the world,” Zuckerberg wrote. “AI, glasses as the next computing platform and the future of social media .” He said those affected by the layoffs will be notified by Feb. 10, 2025, or later for individuals outside the United States. “I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster,” Zuckerberg said. “We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle, with the intention of back filling these roles in 2025.” He added, “We won’t manage out...

Meta has joined the ranks of major companies that are scaling back or, in its case, terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. In a memo sent on Friday, Jan. 10, through Meta’s internal communications tool Workplace, Janelle Gale, the company’s vice president of human resources, announced updates to “our hiring, development, and procurement practices,” effective immediately, according to Axios. “The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” Gale wrote in the memo. “The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI. … The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others.” Going forward, Meta will no longer have a dedicated DEI team. Maxine Williams, the company’s standing chief diversity officer, will transition to a new...

Meta is discontinuing its fact-checking system. On Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan announced that the tech giant would transition to a community notes model — similar to the system on Elon Musk’s X — to “restore free expression,” according to a news release. “Meta’s platforms are built to be places where people can express themselves freely,” said Kaplan in the release. “That can be messy. On platforms where billions of people can have a voice, all the good, bad, and ugly is on display. But that’s free expression.” Kaplan noted that societal and political pressure to moderate content has pushed the company to develop increasingly complex systems to manage content across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram , in recent years. “Too much harmless content gets censored, too many people find themselves wrongly locked up in ‘Facebook jail,’ and we are often too slow to respond when they do,” he added. Zuckerberg also believes the...

In the past year, Meta has undergone significant transformations, particularly in its approach to workforce management. Meta’s decisions regarding layoffs have not only attracted attention but have had a substantial impact on the company’s financial performance. Meta incurred staggering losses totaling $16 billion, primarily attributed to its Metaverse endeavors, mainly its Reality Labs division responsible for Oculus goggles. This marked a significant increase from the previous year’s loss of $13.7 billion, with Meta reporting a loss of $4.6 billion in the final quarter of 2023. Meta’s Stock Surge And Improved Margins Despite these substantial deficits, Meta’s stock surged by 12% following recent updates, largely due to the company’s improved margins. Meta’s revenue increased by 16%, while operating income and profits surged by 62% and 69%, respectively. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has assured investors of further losses in the future due to ongoing investments in augmented reality/...

Meta is facing the infamous situation of “It be your own people.” Well, rather in this case your own technology. BBC reports that BlenderBot 3 — the company’s prototype chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to speak on most topics — said what it had to say about CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg. “He did a terrible job at testifying before congress. It makes me concerned about our country,” the chatbot said, according to the outlet. It added: “Our country is divided and he didn’t help at all. I’m concerned for us all.” The chatbot was referring to Zuckerberg’s multiple appearances since 2018 before Congress stemming from Facebook’s involvement with Cambridge Analytica during the 2016 election cycle. “Mark Zuckerberg ought to be looking at himself in the mirror today, and yet, rather than taking responsibility and showing leadership, Mr. Zuckerberg is going sailing,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chair of the subcommittee, during a hearing with Facebook whistleblower...

TikToker Khaby Lame has now taken his talents to the metaverse — specifically Facebook’s metaverse. Insider reports that the second-most-popular TikToker in the world collaborated with CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a new promotional video for Meta. Lame is widely known for making things look easy and in the video, he teleports to various locations by touching his forehead. In just 21 seconds, he travels to a game of chess, a house, a cycling room and a beach. “Your home is your personal space, from which you can teleport to anywhere you want,” Zuckerberg said in the promotional video. “Teleporting around the metaverse is going to be like clicking a link on the internet.” The video went live on Oct. 30 on both Lame’s Instagram and Meta’s official Twitter account, with the caption: “No one makes jumping around the metaverse look easier than Khaby Lame.” No one makes jumping around the metaverse look easier than @KhabyLame https://t.co/Mw9iYqmeJg pic.twitter.com/vN7iWPGoZf — Meta (@Meta)...

Facebook just may be getting a facelift …literally. As the social media network looks to focus on building the metaverse, there’s speculation that the company will change its name as early as next week, The Verge reports. The name change is said to be announced during next Thursday’s annual Connect conference, but sources say that it could be unveiled sooner to signal the tech giant’s desire to go beyond just the social media ills that it is known for. “We will effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg during an interview with The Verge back in July. Per reports, the rebrand will position the blue Facebook app at the forefront of the products that work under the parent company overseeing various groups which include Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus and more. Facebook has also done the work to launch its greater focus on the next generation of technology. Over the summer, the company set...