Meta tells managers to identify low performers, employees fear layoffs: Report

Meta has reportedly asked managers within the company to identify poor performers, weeks after the company warned about serious times ahead. Some Meta employees now fear they might lose jobs soon, while others fear mass layoffs later. It is being reported that Meta's VP for Remote Presence, Mahar Saba, has instructed managers to identify people on their team who "need support".

Saba has also reportedly instructed managers to "move to exit" under-performers and those "who are unable to get on track." In the meantime, Meta rival Google is also slowing down hirings this year.

According to The Information (via Engadget), Meta will give employees the chance to redeem themselves, but exact details remain unclear. The note by Saba reportedly reads, "If a direct report is coasting or is a low performer, they are not who we need; they are failing this company. As a manager, you cannot allow someone to be net neutral or negative for Meta".

A separate report by The Washington Post citing a person familiar with the matter claims that Meta may use this to create "performance improvement plans" but might end up resulting in mass layoffs.

Earlier this month, Meta chief product officer Chris Cox, in a memo to employees, warned about a "serious" year as its ad business continues to take hits amid a weakening economy. Before that, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in an all-hands meeting, said that the company does not plan to lay off employees for the time being. Meta had paused hiring for several roles across different products.

It was reported that the company had already stopped hiring select teams.

For the last two years, Meta has been receiving stiff competition from rivals like TikTok. Its business has also been hit by Apple's App tracking feature for iPhones.

Meanwhile, Google's Sundar Pichai has also suggested that the company will slow down hiring across verticals as the company is not "not immune to economic headwinds". However, his memo does not suggest anything about layoffs.