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The new year hasn’t brought much relief to the tech sector, as job cuts continue to dominate headlines. 2024 has already seen over thousands of tech workers laid off.
From giants like Meta and Amazon to promising startups, companies have shed thousands of employees. Reasons cited for the layoffs vary. Some, like Meta, point to pandemic-era overhiring and the need for “efficiency.” Others, like Unity, a gaming software company, attribute it to restructuring and refocusing priorities. The rise of automation and AI is also seen as a factor, with repetitive tasks becoming increasingly automated.
In a recent interview with Morning Brew Daily, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered his perspective on the wave of job cuts sweeping the tech industry. While acknowledging the pain caused by layoffs, Zuckerberg suggested a “silver lining” exists, with companies finding benefits in becoming “leaner” after pandemic-era overhiring. In 2023, Meta laid off thousands of employees.
“In terms of the layoffs, I actually think that was more due to companies trying to navigate Covid,” Zuckerberg stated, downplaying the role of automation or specific technologies like AI.”At least for us, the AI stuff was not a major driver for that,” the Meta CEO said. “It was like first this overbuilding and then this sense of like let’s do the best work we can by making a lean company.”
He explained that the pandemic boom in e-commerce fuelled rapid hiring sprees, but as the world adjusted, many companies realised they had become oversized.
This first wave of layoffs, according to Zuckerberg, was primarily about course correction. However, he went on to suggest that companies are now discovering advantages in operating with a smaller workforce. “It was obviously really tough, we parted with a lot of talented people we cared about,” he admitted in the interview, referencing Meta’s own job cuts as part of its “year of efficiency” initiative. “But in some ways actually becoming leaner kind of makes the company more effective.”
From giants like Meta and Amazon to promising startups, companies have shed thousands of employees. Reasons cited for the layoffs vary. Some, like Meta, point to pandemic-era overhiring and the need for “efficiency.” Others, like Unity, a gaming software company, attribute it to restructuring and refocusing priorities. The rise of automation and AI is also seen as a factor, with repetitive tasks becoming increasingly automated.
In a recent interview with Morning Brew Daily, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered his perspective on the wave of job cuts sweeping the tech industry. While acknowledging the pain caused by layoffs, Zuckerberg suggested a “silver lining” exists, with companies finding benefits in becoming “leaner” after pandemic-era overhiring. In 2023, Meta laid off thousands of employees.
“In terms of the layoffs, I actually think that was more due to companies trying to navigate Covid,” Zuckerberg stated, downplaying the role of automation or specific technologies like AI.”At least for us, the AI stuff was not a major driver for that,” the Meta CEO said. “It was like first this overbuilding and then this sense of like let’s do the best work we can by making a lean company.”
He explained that the pandemic boom in e-commerce fuelled rapid hiring sprees, but as the world adjusted, many companies realised they had become oversized.
This first wave of layoffs, according to Zuckerberg, was primarily about course correction. However, he went on to suggest that companies are now discovering advantages in operating with a smaller workforce. “It was obviously really tough, we parted with a lot of talented people we cared about,” he admitted in the interview, referencing Meta’s own job cuts as part of its “year of efficiency” initiative. “But in some ways actually becoming leaner kind of makes the company more effective.”
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