Massive layoffs at Meta: is it the crypto-currency focused Metaverse division that will be affected?

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is planning to cut its global workforce this week. Meta appears to be following the lead of other tech giants like Twitter and Google, announcing a reduction of nearly 30 to 50 percent of its staff. Last week, Twitter cut its workforce by 50 percent due to a decline in profits.

Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta is planning “large-scale layoffs.”

Tech giant Meta is reportedly planning “large-scale layoffs” this week for the first time in 18 years, the Wall Street Journal reports. Through September, Meta had more than 87,000 employees. Of all the employees, a large portion work in the Metaverse division, Reality Labs. Facebook’s parent company has also invested heavily in the Metaverse division.

At the Q3 2022 earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that most of the company’s teams “Will remain flat or decrease over the next year“. Meta plans to focus primarily on three main areas, including the AI discovery engine, commercial ads and messaging platforms, and the “metaverse.” The company plans to continue to invest heavily in these areas.

Meta is still actively recruiting for the metaverse division, with most job openings related to AI and VR. However, Meta’s shareholder Altimeter Capital, which owns about 2.46 million Meta shares, has asked the company to reduce its headcount and investment in metaverse projects.

Meta’s shares have fallen more than 73 percent this year. In addition, a 52% drop in net income from $9.2 billion to $4.4 billion has caused concern among its shareholders. The metaverse division posted an operating loss of $3.7 billion for the period. The stock price fell more than 30 percent after the company’s earnings release on Oct. 26.

The drop in metaverse and NFT users in a bear market also impacted Meta’s virtual world, Horizon Worlds. However, Zuckerberg remains optimistic about the metaverse’s prospects.

Elon Musk fires 50% of Twitter employees

Elon Musk has decided to lay off half of Twitter’s workforce due to a massive decline in revenue. Musk said that those affected will receive a 3-month severance package. Later, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey took to Twitter to apologize for scaling the company too quickly.