The 11,000 people Mark Zuckerberg fired on Wednesday received just a few encouraging words, according to a video conversation that was released hours after the mass layoffs.
A clip of the conversation, which was provided by one of the employees who was impacted by the layoffs, depicts a gaunt Zuckerberg virtually addressing the team on Wednesday, hours after Meta brass distributed a message informing them that 13 percent of its workforce would be laid off.
The 38-year-old creator of Facebook makes an effort to justify the firings, the first significant round in the company’s 18-year existence, which he finally said was “his choice.”
The enormous corporation, which just experienced a major loss in market value with stocks down 70%, was stated to be making cutbacks in every area by Zuckerberg in the message issued hours earlier.
The software tycoon’s signature icy manner was on full show during the brief conversation with staff on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET to provide a terse continuation of the apologies expressed in that communication.
Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are all owned by Meta, which has seen its value drop from more than $1 trillion last year to to $268 billion today. In order to further reduce expenses, the corporation also intends to substantially curtail recruiting in the next year.
‘I know there must be just a range of different emotions. I want to say up front that I take full responsibility for this decision,’ Zuckerberg says in the clip.
‘I’m the founder and CEO, I’m responsible for the health of our company, for our direction, and for deciding how we execute that, including things like this, and this was ultimately my call.’
‘And it was one of the hardest calls that I’ve had to make in the 18 years of running the company. And a lot of why it’s hard is, obviously, it has a big impact on your lives, but also for our mission.’
‘We’re losing people who… you’ve really put your heart and soul into this place.’
‘Each of you is talented and passionate, and each of you has played a role in making Meta the success that it is.’
‘No matter what team you may have worked on, each of you played a role in contributing to the products that billions of people use to connect every day.’