London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jan 07, 2026

The 6 big takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg's lengthy layoffs post

The 6 big takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg's lengthy layoffs post

Meta is shrinking, investing in AI, and creating an "optimal ratio of engineers" compared to other roles, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a long post.
Meta is slashing both jobs and projects to cut costs

With the 10,000 layoffs, Meta wants to make its chain "flatter" by making more managers "individual contributors," according to the post. Zuckerberg also said that managers should have few reports, 10 max.

The layoffs "will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues who have been part of our success," he acknowledged.

Zuckerberg also described less important projects as a potential burden on personnel resources and other logistics like IT support and infrastructure like even laptops, which signaled a focus on the company's spending.

"Indirect costs compound and it's easy to underestimate them," he wrote.

Jobs in recruiting, tech, and business will be hit, but Zuckerberg wants to 'keep technology the main thing' for Meta

As Meta slows hiring, it will lay off members in its recruiting department, Zuckerberg wrote. Those employees will be among the first to learn their fates at the company as soon as Wednesday, he said.

Others will be informed in the coming months — those on the company's tech teams will hear in April, while those laid off from business teams will learn about it in May, he wrote.

Zuckerberg also said the company was striving for a more "optimal ratio of engineers to other roles," though he didn't put a number to it.

Some of the restructuring moves would take longer to implement, he said, noting that international employees, for instance, would be on a separate schedule.

"In a small number of cases, it may take through the end of the year to complete these changes," he said.

Meta has big AI plans

Zuckerberg said that artificial intelligence marks the company's "single largest investment," and added that the company wants it in "every one of our products."

Amid the frenzy over OpenAI's ChatGPT and similar versions of generative AI tools since then, Meta last month unveiled its own new AI model called "LLaMA," which it said was meant to support more research into such tools.

"We have the infrastructure to do this at unprecedented scale and I think the experiences it enables will be amazing," Zuckerberg wrote on Tuesday.

The move appears to mark a shift from his previously hyped metaverse, often described as a kind of virtual digital world. But he said on Tuesday that "building the metaverse and shaping the next generation of computing platforms also remains central to defining the future of social connection."

Zuckerberg warns the economy could stay rough for a while

"At this point, I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that thisnew economic reality will continue for many years," he wrote, pointing to factors often cited for the turmoil facing companies and markets, including rising interest rates and "geopolitical instability."

"Given this outlook, we'll need to operate more efficiently than our previous headcount reduction to ensure success," he wrote.

Meta found that early-career engineers may do better working in person more often

Zuckerberg wrote that Meta reviewed its "performance data" and found that early-career engineers were able to do better if they worked with colleagues in person "at least three days a week."

Zuckerberg also added that the analysis "requires further study." The company allows those who can work remotely to apply to do that, while others mostly work in the office, Insider has reported.

Morale is going to take a hit

"I also recognize that the idea of upcoming org changes creates uncertainty and stress," he wrote. "My hope is to make these org changes as soon as possible in the year so we can get past this period of uncertainty and focus on the critical work ahead."

A Meta spokesperson declined to comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
UK Households Face Rising Financial Strain as Tax Increases Bite and Growth Loses Momentum
UK Government Approves Universal Studios Theme Park in Bedford Poised to Rival Disneyland Paris
×