Amid making headlines for removing fact-checkers from the mix on Facebook and Instagram, the Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta has entered the news cycle for another major development.

Meta To Fire 3,600 Employees

As according to reports, Zuckerberg has decided to slash about 3,600 jobs in his company. This amounts to about 5 per cent of the company's overall workforce of the biggest tech companies in the world.

Meta reportedly has a total workforce of around 72,000.

Positioning himself as a tough taskmaster, the Meta boss said this is a move towards raising the standards. He said that the low-performers in the company would be asked to leave.

This tone acquired by Zuckerberg is different from the previous tech layoffs, wherein post-pandemic cost-cutting was attributed as the reason behind layoffs.

Season Of Layoffs

During the pandemic years, the tech companies went on a hiring spree, only to fire a significant number of them later on.

Before firing the company's fact-checkers, a move that has raised many eyebrows, Meta fired 6,000 employees in 2023.

It is not just Meta, last week Microsoft said that it gave the pink slip to 1 per cent of its massive workforce.

Last year, another major tech company, Intel announced that it is laying off roughly 15,000 employees or a staggering 15 per cent of its workforce.

The Wind Of Change

This change in Meta's approach is also in line with the changing attitude of the company, along with many other components of corporate America, that is pandering to incoming president Donald Trump.

In the recent past, many behemoths of the business world have rolled back on their DEI or Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity, programme after Trumpian and US Conservative backlash.

Meta, itself has been a part of this change. Apart from the removal of fact-checkers, the company also donated a million dollars to Trump's inauguration.

Meta Shares

When we look at the performance of the company at the equity market, the shares performed underwhelmingly in the recent past.

Just on Tuesday, January 15, the shares of the company declined by 2.31 per cent or USD 14.08. In the past month of trading alone, the company shares have seen a cumulative loss of 4.80 per cent or USD 29.99. The current value of Meta shares sit at Rs 594.25 per piece.