- Meta is cutting about 10,000 additional jobs, the company's second round of layoffs in 4 months.
- CEOs often see layoffs as a way to fix a company's problems, but the cuts can do lasting damage.
It's the Meta update that no one wanted.
The $4 only four months after the company conducted its first-ever round of $4 is, of course, scary for Meta's rank-and-file workers.
It's also possibly a risky move for the company.
CEOs often see layoffs as a quick fix to a company's problems, but employee purges can introduce lasting harm, including $4 and $4, and $4. Multiple rounds of layoffs only exacerbate these outcomes, management experts told Insider.
It's not been an easy ride for Meta employees of late. Zuckerberg $4 that in addition to cutting 10,000 workers, the company would eliminate about 5,000 job openings.
The decision follows a move by the parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in November to let go of roughly 11,000 staffers — a move $4 as "a last resort." The company's retrenchments follow Zuckerberg's pledge in February that 2023 would be the company's "$4."
He isn't the only tech chief looking to cut costs. Layoffs in the industry $4 following a blistering pace of hiring in the early years of the pandemic. And Meta isn't alone in reducing its employee ranks more than once in short order. Twitter's workforce is about $4 when Elon Musk bought the company last year and began conducting $4.
With its latest cuts, Meta $4, down from a high last year of about 86,000.
Layoffs redux: Why did leaders miscalculate?
While a company's motivation for making multiple cuts often stems from a desire to put its fiscal responsibility on full display to investors, that strategy can backfire. Instead, the move looks more like managerial incompetence, said Dana Sumpter, a former HR executive who's now an associate professor at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.
"Companies are racing to the bottom by trying to impress their shareholders and boards and show how cost-conscious they are," she said. "Even when investors react in a positive way to a layoff announcement — 'Good for Meta, they're being conscientious' — if the company needs to do it multiple times, there may be the question of, 'Do they have their act together?'"
Salaries and employee benefits are typically one of a company's largest expenses, accounting for as much as 70% of total business costs, $4, an HR software company. And at a time when high interest rates, high inflation, and $4, trimming head count makes a certain amount of financial sense.
The trouble is that when companies shed workers to cut costs and create efficiencies in the short term, they tend to overlook the $4, Sumpter said. This might be especially true today when a number of $4 and others $4, she added.
"These companies want to be a part of the headlines. They want to show that they're being fiscally prudent and frugal and that they, along with their peers, are making these tough decisions and cutting costs," Sumpter said.
Cutting a second time in short succession likely stems from the same impulse, she told Insider. But as a strategy, it's likely to have the opposite effect and leave investors perplexed as to why leaders miscalculated.
"They're wondering how efficient they are, and do they know what they're doing?" Sumpter said.
One bout of layoffs dents morale; a second can be devastating
It's uncommon for a company to $4, according to data from Crunchbase. Last year, around 9% of the 433 tech companies it tracked laid off workers more than once.
That might be because it's generally $4, said Kerry Sulkowicz, the managing principal of the Boswell Group, which advises CEOs and boards on people and culture issues. "Doing layoffs in dribs and drabs creates instability," he told Insider.
"When a CEO does this, it's important to communicate that this is a difficult decision, and to the extent possible, to do it one fell swoop."
One bout of layoffs can leave a dent in employee morale; a second round can be devastating. Surviving employees often mourn the loss of their colleagues and feel guilty they were spared.
They're also likely to feel extra nervous about their job security: Instead of focusing on the work at hand, they're looking over their shoulders, which is not good for their productivity or sanity, said Sulkowicz.
"They're constantly wondering, 'Is there another round coming? Am I next?'"