Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Announces Layoffs of 3,600 Employees for Poor Performance

Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It was announced layoffs of approximately 3,600 employees performed poorly. CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the decision, saying it is part of a larger drive to enhance standards and attract fresh talent.

Mark Zuckerberg said that we need to “raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster” in a private memo that Bloomberg made public. It is planned that the company has the “strongest talent” and can “bring new people in” by letting go of about 5% of its staff.

In the process, Meta is scaling back or curbing some activities and ending fact-checking in the U.S. On one more note, Zuckerberg has morphed of late into a somewhat right-wing leader.

About 72,400 people worked for Meta as of September 2024. Employees who are impacted will be told by February 10, 2025. Employees from other countries will be told later. People who are fired will get large retirement packages.

Another big US company, Microsoft, recently revealed layoffs affecting less than 1% of its workforce. Zuckerberg’s decision comes after similar performance-based cuts by other big US companies.

Recently, Mark Zuckerberg maintains a small, trusted group of around 25 to 30 employees, which he refers to as his “core team. They work together at Meta to make key decisions and generate new ideas. This group consists of top leaders, trusted engineers, and long-time collaborators. They work quickly and independently.

They talk to each other a lot in secret. Because they are flat, they are easy to bend. They often go around normal company leadership. The team works on big projects like making AI smarter and building the metaverse. They make sure that Zuckerberg’s plans are carried out quickly and well at Meta.

In May 2025, Meta told managers to rate 15–20% of employees as “below expectations.” This is up from 12–15% last year. This change raised worries about more performance-related layoffs. No new company-wide layoffs are planned. This follows the February 2025 cuts of 3,600 employees. Meta is downsizing but expanding in India. It focuses on AI and chip design. Its stock has risen over 47% in the past year.