Facebook Owner Meta Starts Final Round of Layoffs

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. (Reuters)
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Facebook Owner Meta Starts Final Round of Layoffs

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. (Reuters)

Meta Platforms Inc started carrying out the last batch of a three-part round of layoffs on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter, as part of a plan announced in March to eliminate 10,000 roles.

Meta earlier this year became the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs, after showing more than 11,000 employees the door in the fall. The cuts brought the company's headcount down to where it stood as of about mid-2021, following a hiring spree that doubled its workforce since 2020.

Several employees working in teams such as marketing, recruiting, engineering and corporate communications took to LinkedIn on Wednesday to announce that they were laid off.

Meta shares were up 0.5% in a broadly weaker market. They have more than doubled in value this year and are among the top performers in the S&P 500 index, thanks to the cost-cutting drive and Meta's focus on artificial intelligence.

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in March said the bulk of the layoffs in the company's second round would take place in three "moments" over several months, largely finishing in May. Some smaller rounds could continue after that, he said.

Overall the cuts have hit non-engineering roles most heavily, reinforcing the primacy of those who write the code at Meta. Zuckerberg pledged in March to restructure business teams "substantially" and return to a "more optimal ratio of engineers to other roles."

Even among cuts aimed specifically at technology teams, the company eliminated non-engineering roles like content design and user experience research most severely, according to executives speaking at a company town hall afterward.

About 4,000 employees lost their jobs in the April layoffs, Zuckerberg said during the town hall, following a smaller hit to recruiting teams in March.

The social media company said on Wednesday that the latest cuts were likely to impact around 490 employees at its international headquarters in Dublin, or almost 20% of its Irish workforce.

Meta's layoffs followed months of waning revenue growth amid high inflation and a digital ad pullback from the pandemic e-commerce boom.

The company also has been pouring billions of dollars into its metaverse-oriented Reality Labs unit, which lost $13.7 billion in 2022, and a project to whip its infrastructure into shape to support artificial intelligence work.



Ubisoft Unveils ‘Creative Houses’ Model as First-Quarter Bookings Miss Expectations

The logo of Ubisoft is seen in Montreuil, near Paris, France, July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
The logo of Ubisoft is seen in Montreuil, near Paris, France, July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
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Ubisoft Unveils ‘Creative Houses’ Model as First-Quarter Bookings Miss Expectations

The logo of Ubisoft is seen in Montreuil, near Paris, France, July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
The logo of Ubisoft is seen in Montreuil, near Paris, France, July 13, 2020. (Reuters)

France's lead videogame maker Ubisoft announced on Tuesday a sweeping reorganization of its internal structure, shifting to autonomous "Creative Houses" tailored to specific gaming genres, as it reported first-quarter net bookings that fell short of expectations.

The company said in a call that the leadership of each Creative House would be selected based on specific gaming genres, and could include those from creative or technical backgrounds, as part of the new approach.

"These units will reflect our diverse types of gaming experiences and will allow for enhanced quality, focus, autonomy and accountability," CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot said in a statement.

The first such unit, jointly owned with China's Tencent, will manage flagship franchises including Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Co-CEOs Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot will lead brand development across multiple platforms.

Ubisoft plans to roll out the full organizational changes by the end of the year.

The company reported first-quarter net bookings of 281.6 million euros ($305.7 million), missing its target of around 310 million euros and marking a 2.9% decline from the same period of last year.

It attributed the shortfall to a weaker-than-expected performance from the Rainbow Six Siege game and the delay of a partnership now expected in the second quarter.

Despite the miss, Ubisoft reiterated its full-year guidance and forecast second-quarter net bookings of approximately 450 million euros.

Upcoming releases include Anno 117: Pax Romana, a Prince of Persia remake, and mobile titles Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence.