Sep 29, 2022 - Technology

Facebook parent Meta freezes hiring

Illustration of Mark Zuckerberg's face against a grid background

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staffers Thursday that he is freezing new hires and plans to institute additional cost-cutting measures, Axios has confirmed.

Why it matters: Meta is the latest tech company to shift from slower hiring to a full-on freeze.

Details: In an online meeting with employees, Zuckerberg listed a range of different ways that the company could look to cut costs, including not filling roles as people leave, transferring employees and pushing out underperforming workers, according to Bloomberg reporter Kurt Wagner.

The big picture: Tech companies have been in the forefront of slowing or freezing hires and executing layoffs as the economy has slowed and rising interest rates take a toll on stock prices and capital availability.

  • Google, Microsoft and Apple have all said they have slowed their hiring plans for the year, in some cases instituting partial hiring freezes.
  • Snap and Docusign are some of the tech firms that have recently announced layoffs.

Facebook declined to comment, but pointed to comments that Zuckerberg made on the company's last earnings call where he warned of slowing growth: "Our plan is to steadily reduce headcount growth over the next year. Many teams are going to shrink so we can shift energy to other areas."

Go deeper: Tech companies hit the brakes as slowdown looms

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from Facebook.

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