Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of social media giant Meta, addressed the company's staff Thursday morning in an all-hands meeting addressing the decision to lay off 10,000 employees and close 5,000 open positions due to a "difficult economic environment". Zuckerberg made it clear that employees should judge the company leadership based on their progress towards their goals, while at the same time warning of higher interest rates, geopolitical instability and increased regulation leading to slower growth and decreased innovation. He also noted that the November layoffs had improved efficiency of the company and that the current economic reality could be around for many years.
The CEO was asked how employees can remain productive during a period of uncertainty, to which he responded that the company could not just "pause working" while figuring out the plans. Zuckerberg further discussed the possibility of creating new rules to mandate people returning to the office for a specific amount of time. He emphasized that the company had taken steps to minimize the chance of further layoffs, but warned that the current economic environment could persist for a foreseeable future.