As Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc. and other Silicon Valley behemoths look to lighten payrolls after years of feverish hiring, a clear target has emerged: the middle manager.
Meta will be cutting some layers of management, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on the company’s earnings call last Wednesday, naming 2023 its “Year of Efficiency.” The company let go of over 11,000 workers last year, 13% of its workforce, in its first major layoff. This is “just the beginning,” said Susan Li, the company’s chief financial officer. The stock staged the biggest single-day rebound in nearly a decade after reporting revenue that beat expectations.
Recent layoffs at Alphabet, meanwhile, revealed a startling stat: Google employs more than 30,000 managers, according to remarks Fiona Cicconi, Google’s chief people officer, made to staff. The company eliminated 12,000 jobs this month, or 6% of its workforce.
