After Facebook’s ambitious cryptocurrency Libra failed to impress netizens, its much hyped metaverse was called out for worse graphics than a game from the 2000s. This year, Facebook also lost users for the first time since its inception in 2004, as 1.4 million people left the social media platform. Shaken up by global headwinds in the aftermath of big projects turning out to be duds, Facebook is reportedly about to quietly fire 12,000 people for cutting costs.
Have big plans for Meta crashed and burned?
Almost a year after Zuckerberg announced creation of 10,000 new jobs to build the metaverse, the tech firm which even changed its name to Meta has already scaled down hiring. The big trim is reportedly a part of Meta’s strategy to reduce its workforce by 15 per cent within a matter of weeks. The operation meant to be a quiet affair, involves placing people on a 30-day needs support list, only to mark them for being laid off.
Loss of money and face
After Mark Zuckerberg lost half of his wealth in a matter of monts to slip to the 22nd position on Forbes’ rich list, engineering jobs at Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook have dried up as part of cost cutting. After multiple data breach incidents and privacy concerns, Facebook has been hit by more than $6 billion in penalties, and the company’s reputation has also taken a hit over failure to tackle hate speech and fake news.
Social media giant losing relevance?
Not only has Instagram been left behind by TikTok when it comes to engagement for Reels, the platform had to roll back features that faced a backlash for copying its rival. Facebook is also expecting a $10 billion dent in its ad revenue this year, due to Apple’s privacy policy that restricts it from tracking user behaviour. It’s advertising business is also suffering, since TikTok offers simpler marketing, and has a reach across different segments.
Since Gen Z is flocking to TikTok, Facebook is almost two decades old and clearly isn’t keeping up with the competition. Only time will tell if the first social media behemoth will be left behind by new platforms gaining more relevance by democratising content creation.
