Meta has announced another round of layoffs affecting major divisions including Instagram, Reality Labs, and WhatsApp, marking the latest example of tech companies’ ongoing workforce restructuring. While the exact number of eliminated positions remains unclear, Meta stated it would seek alternative positions for affected workers.
This announcement represents a shift in how tech giants approach workforce management. After the sweeping layoffs of late 2022 and early 2023, companies like Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have adopted a more methodical, department-by-department approach to cuts. Google’s parent company Alphabet began 2023 by eliminating 12,000 jobs—approximately 6% of its workforce—followed by smaller, targeted reductions throughout 2024.
Art Zeile, CEO of tech-career marketplace Dice, explained that major tech companies have determined certain departments are no longer sufficiently profitable and are redirecting resources toward growth areas like artificial intelligence. “It is a shifting of bets,” Zeile noted, describing this routine trimming as the new normal for the industry.
The impact on tech workers has been significant. An Indeed survey of over 1,100 US tech workers found that 40% expect to be affected if their company conducts layoffs, while 70% would begin seeking other employment if layoffs occurred at their organization. This anxiety is exemplified by workers like Andy Welfle, who was laid off from Microsoft after just nine months, having previously experienced a similar fate at Cruise.
Linsey Fagan, a senior talent strategy advisor at Indeed, warned that recurring layoffs aren’t sustainable. Employee sentiment drops before layoffs as workers anticipate cuts, and feelings about the company and CEO take “a long-term dive” afterward. The rise of generative AI and layoff threats are pushing tech workers to build new skills and consider alternative industries like healthcare or staffing firms.
However, the picture isn’t entirely bleak. Zeile noted that while Meta cuts positions in areas like VR engineering, it’s “on a tear” hiring AI engineers. Job postings in software development have stabilized after years of decline, though they remain 30% below 2020 levels. Zeile predicts investors will eventually demand growth beyond cost-cutting, leading to broader hiring as companies identify workforce needs in emerging technology areas.
Key Quotes
It is a shifting of bets
Art Zeile, CEO of tech-career marketplace Dice, described how major tech companies are determining certain departments are no longer profitable and redirecting resources to growth areas like artificial intelligence, characterizing routine job trimming as the new normal.
It’s definitely not a sustainable strategy
Linsey Fagan, senior talent strategy advisor at Indeed, warned about the long-term costs of recurring layoffs, noting that employee sentiment drops before cuts occur and takes a long-term dive afterward, making business recovery difficult.
Meta is actually on a tear right now. They’re just no longer hiring VR engineers. They are hiring AI engineers, so they’ve actually boosted their hiring.
Art Zeile explained that while Meta is cutting positions in some divisions, the company is aggressively expanding its AI workforce, illustrating how tech giants are reallocating resources toward artificial intelligence rather than simply downsizing.
They’re just not feeling that stability right now
Linsey Fagan described how tech workers, traditionally drawn to tech industry roles, are now applying to staffing firms and other industries like healthcare due to concerns about job security amid recurring layoffs and AI-driven disruption.
Our Take
The Meta layoffs reveal a critical inflection point where AI isn’t just changing what tech companies build—it’s fundamentally reshaping who they employ. The simultaneous cutting of VR engineers while “on a tear” hiring AI talent demonstrates that this isn’t about belt-tightening but strategic repositioning.
What’s particularly striking is the psychological toll on workers. The rise of contingent employment and cross-industry job searches suggests tech workers are losing faith in the industry’s stability, potentially creating a talent crisis just as AI demands more skilled practitioners.
Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” becoming permanent reflects a broader maturation of tech giants from growth-at-all-costs startups to profit-focused corporations. However, the question remains: can companies maintain innovation and attract top talent while treating employment as infinitely flexible? The answer will shape not just individual careers but the pace of AI development itself, as demoralized workforces rarely drive breakthrough innovation.
Why This Matters
This story illuminates a fundamental transformation in the tech industry driven by artificial intelligence adoption. Companies aren’t simply downsizing—they’re strategically reallocating human capital from legacy technologies to AI-focused roles, reflecting AI’s emergence as the dominant growth area in tech.
The shift has profound implications for the tech workforce. Workers face increased job insecurity even as new opportunities emerge in AI development and implementation. This creates a bifurcated job market where AI skills command premium value while traditional tech roles face obsolescence.
For businesses, this signals that AI investment is no longer optional but essential for competitive survival. Companies unable to pivot resources toward AI risk falling behind competitors who embrace the technology. The pattern established by Meta, Google, and Microsoft—cutting in some areas while aggressively hiring AI talent—will likely become standard across the industry.
Longer-term, this restructuring raises questions about workforce stability, the social contract between tech companies and employees, and whether the AI boom will create enough quality jobs to offset losses in other departments. The “year of efficiency” may become a permanent feature of tech employment.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-job-cuts-indicate-tech-companies-like-recurring-layoffs-2024-10