Meta's final round of layoffs begins

The last batch of a three-part round of layoffs at Meta Platforms Inc started on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter, as part of a plan announced in March to cut 10,000 jobs.

Having laid off more than 11,000 employees in the fall, Meta became the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of layoffs in March. Despite a hiring spree that doubled the company's workforce since 2020, the cuts brought its headcount down to what it was as of mid-2021.

In a round expected to affect ad sales, marketing, and partnerships, some employees announced their layoffs on platforms such as LinkedIn on Wednesday.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, said in March that the company's second round of layoffs would take place in three "moments" over several months, mostly ending in May. He said some smaller rounds could continue after that.

The cuts mainly affected non-engineering roles, reinforcing the importance of those who write code at Meta. According to Zuckerberg, the company would restructure its business teams "substantially" and return to a "more optimal ratio of engineers to other roles."

After smaller layoffs in March, about 4,000 employees were laid off in April, Zuckerberg said during the town hall.

Layoffs at Meta followed months of waning revenue growth amid high inflation and a pullback in digital advertising from the pandemic e-commerce boom.

In addition, the company has been putting billions of dollars into its metaverse-focused Reality Labs unit, which lost $13.7 billion in 2022, and a project to whip its infrastructure into shape to support artificial intelligence.