Facebook parent Meta is looking to reduce costs by 10%, the Wall Street Journal reports. Through overhead and consulting cost cuts, hiring freezes and “ruthless prioritization,” Facebook is looking to save money. Executives are loathe, however, to use the word “layoff.”
Likewise, Google parent Alphabet Inc. is also looking to reduce its staff.
A punitive tactic both Big Tech companies take to achieve this goal is by eliminating employees’ positions and challenging them to find another job in the company within 30 days, 60 to 90 days if the terms are “generous.”
Meta employees have baptized this trial by fire the “30 Day List.” Facebook has long held the philosophy that if an employees isn’t productive and well-regarded enough, if they haven’t earned solid reviews, they should be shown the door.
The problem, WSJ reports, citing sources familiar with Facebook human resource practices, is that now, people with good reputations and track records are being eliminated on a regular basis.
Last week, 100 employees at Google’s incubator Area 120 were told they had 90 days to find another job.
Google employees are not taking the new dictums lightly. In March, on behalf of 100 employees in Google’s cloud computing division, 1,400 Google workers signed a petition to extend Google’s 60-day job hunting period to 180 days.
Bucking the current trend of Big Tech companies to quietly push people out, Snap Inc. announced last week it will cut 20% of its staff. It had grown its workforce by 65% since year-end 2020.