Meta lays off employees at WhatsApp and Instagram: Report

Meta is laying off employees across units including Instagram, WhatsApp and Reality Labs, the Verge reported on Wednesday (Oct 16), citing people familiar with the matter.

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters in a statement that a few of its teams were making changes to align with their long-term strategic goals and location strategy.

"This includes moving some teams to different locations, and moving some employees to different roles. In situations like these when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees," the spokesperson said.

The Verge report did not specify the exact number of job cuts but mentioned that they were small. Meta also did not comment on the numbers.

Separately, the Financial Times reported that Meta fired another two dozen staff in Los Angeles for allegedly using their daily US$25 (S$32.8) meal credits to instead buy household items including acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent.

These terminations are separate from the team restructurings and took place last week, the FT report said.

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Meta declined to comment on the FT report.

Meta has slashed around 21,000 jobs since November 2022 to keep costs low with CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling 2023 the "Year of Efficiency".

Meta shares have jumped more than 60 per cent this year.

In its most recent second quarter results, Meta beat market expectations for revenue and issued a rosy sales forecast for the third quarter, signalling that robust digital-ad spending on its social media platforms can cover the cost of its artificial-intelligence investments.

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