Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has announced that it will cut 10,000 jobs.
It will be the second series of mass redundancies from the tech giant, which laid off 11,000 employees in November 2022.
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the cuts would be “tough”, and formed part of a “year of efficiency”.
In addition to the 10,000 jobs being lost, 5,000 open roles at the company will be left unfilled.
Mr Zuckerberg told staff in a memo he believed the company had suffered “a humbling wake-up call” in 2022 when it saw a slowdown in revenue.
He cited higher interest rates in the US, global geopolitical instability and increased regulation as some of the factors affecting Meta.
“I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that this new economic reality will continue for many years,” he said.
The cuts come as companies including Google and Amazon have been grappling with how to balance cost-cutting measures with the need to remain competitive.
At the start of this year, Amazon announced it planned to close more than 18,000 jobs because of “the uncertain economy” and rapid hiring during pandemic, while Google’s parent company Alphabet made 12,000 cuts.
BBC