Meta Platforms Slashes Over 11,000 Jobs, 13% of Its Workforce

Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) announced on Wednesday that it is laying off more than 11,000 employees, or about 13% of its workforce.

The social-media giant said the job cuts were across its apps and Reality Labs segments. In addition to Facebook, Meta owns Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, and Reality Labs houses its augmented- and virtual-reality operations.

Meta also said that Reality Labs' operating losses in 2023 will continue to grow significantly year-over-year.

The company has been trying to make inroads into Web3 after halting its stablecoin efforts. Facebook even rebranded to Meta to reiterate its focus on building the metaverse.

In a message to employees, CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed his continued commitment to his metaverse plans, saying, "We’ve shifted more of our resources onto a smaller number of high priority growth areas – like our AI (artificial intelligence) discovery engine, our ads and business platforms, and our long-term vision for the metaverse."

The company recently announced that Instagram users will be able to mint and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Meta's shares were up over 3% at $99.8 during premarket trading.