Meta to lay off 3,600 employees in performance-based cuts

Meta plans to dismiss approximately 3,600 employees identified as low performers and replace them with new hires, according to an internal memo reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, confirmed to AFP that CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision will affect five percent of its workforce.

Meta had approximately 72,400 employees as of September.

"I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster," Zuckerberg said.

The CEO said the performance-based cuts are intended to ensure that the company has the "strongest talent" and is able to "bring new people in."

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Performance-based dismissals are a common practice among major US corporations. Microsoft announced similar cuts last week affecting less than one percent of its workforce, Business Insider reported.

The layoffs come amid broader changes at Meta, in advance of Donald Trump returning to the White House on January 20.

Zuckerberg has recently aligned more closely with conservative ideas and political figures, including having dinner meetings with Trump and nominating a Republican as Meta's head of public affairs.

Last week, Zuckerberg announced the end of the company's US fact-checking program that aimed to combat misinformation on its platforms. The program had faced criticism from conservative voices who viewed it as censorship.

Under the new system, users will be able to add context to posts, similar to features on X, formerly Twitter, and championed by Elon Musk, the platform’s owner.

The company has also scaled back its diversity initiatives and relaxed content moderation rules on Facebook and Instagram, particularly regarding certain forms of hostile speech.