Written by Moanis Hawass Saturday, February 17, 2024 09:00 PM at Mark Zuckerberg A theory on why layoffs aren’t slowing down in tech: Companies are realizing that while the process is painful, there are benefits to being “leaner.” In an interview with the Morning Brew Daily podcast published on Friday, the CEO said He told Meta that companies are still adapting to the post-pandemic era, and he also discussed competition with Apple, among other topics in a wide-ranging interview.
First wave
During the pandemic, e-commerce sales skyrocketed, driving big gains in online advertising, but as people returned to stores and the economy adjusted, sales growth flattened and advertising prices came back down to earth, and many companies, including Meta. , they overhired and had to make major cuts, and that was the first wave of layoffs.
Artificial intelligence boom
“In terms of layoffs and things like that, I actually think it was due to companies trying to get ahead of Covid,” Zuckerberg said in the interview when asked if tech layoffs had anything to do with the AI boom.
What comes next?
Zuckerberg said that companies are no longer downsizing their employees just to over-hire, but rather now realize that there can be benefits from being smaller. Zuckerberg said that although a lot of technology companies were reluctant to make the cuts at first, Zuckerberg said that… She realized that this did not mean the end.
“Obviously it’s been really difficult, we’ve parted ways with a lot of talented people that we care about,” Zuckerberg said in the interview, speaking specifically about Meta’s previous layoffs. more effective”.
Since Meta cut tens of thousands of its employees starting with the “Year of Efficiency” announced by Zuckerberg, the company has made a comeback, with its shares rising to their highest levels ever.
Fewer administrative layers
Zuckerberg has cut through layers of management as part of this efficiency drive. Instagram is removing technical program managers and this role is also being reduced across other parts of Meta.
Zuckerberg said during his Morning Brew podcast that companies today are still in a mindset about efficiency. Many are considering restructuring the company, leveling management levels, and moving to a leaner model, and companies like Microsoft and Google have continued to downsize despite strong profits. A number of CEOs at companies such as Amazon have mentioned plans to restructure the company and invest in the areas of artificial intelligence.
But Zuckerberg said he doesn’t think AI is a big part of the equation. “For us at least, the AI stuff hasn’t been a major driver of that,” the CEO said. “It was like initially overbuilding and then feeling like doing the best job possible by creating a simple company.”
Apple competition
Zuck also talked about the intense rivalry between Meta and Apple. There is a rift between Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook that goes back several years now. The companies are racing to become the dominant platform for virtual reality, augmented reality, and what Apple calls spatial computing.
Earlier this week, Zook criticized Apple’s Vision Pro glasses in a review posted online, saying during the Morning Brew podcast: “I take Apple very seriously.” “I think it’s a good company, they do a good job.”
Zuck said Apple is likely to improve its headphones, but the meta will likely move faster. He also looked at the history of computing and described how closed platforms like Apple’s iOS sometimes win.
“But that’s not always the way things work,” Zuck said, noting that Microsoft’s open approach to personal computers won out in the 1990s. “I don’t think the future is written for this yet,” he said.
2024-02-17 19:00:00
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