Meta, the company that owns social media brands WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, has today announced that more than 11,000 staff members will be axed from the business.
Founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg described it as a ‘sad moment’ and said that it was one of the most ‘difficult changes’ in Meta’s history.
In an email sent to staff and later shared online, he confirmed that the size of the team of ‘talented employees’ would be reduced by roughly 13% as part of a huge restructuring.
Zuckerberg added that Meta will become a ‘leaner and more efficient company’ by cutting discretionary spending and extending its hiring freeze through Q1.
He wrote: “I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted.”
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The letter outlined that many expected the surge in online growth triggered by Covid lockdowns to be a ‘permanent acceleration’ – but that this ‘did not play out the way he expected’.
Credit: Unsplash
Zuckerberg wrote: “Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected. I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”
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The letter to staff outlined that those being made redundant will receive 16 weeks’ of base pay, plus two additional weeks for every year of service, with no cap.
They also added that employees in the US would continue to receive healthcare for six months, and those working on a visa will have access to immigration specialists, with similar support outside the US.
It said: “We made the decision to remove access to most Meta systems for people leaving today given the amount of access to sensitive information. But we’re keeping email addresses active throughout the day so everyone can say farewell.”
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Further on, Zuckerberg wrote: “The teammates who will be leaving us are talented and passionate, and have made an important impact on our company and community. Each of you have helped make Meta a success, and I’m grateful for it. I’m sure you’ll go on to do great work at other places.”
He concluded: “This is a sad moment, and there’s no way around that. To those who are leaving, I want to thank you again for everything you’ve put into this place. We would not be where we are today without your hard work, and I’m grateful for your contributions.
“To those who are staying, I know this is a difficult time for you too. Not only are we saying goodbye to people we’ve worked closely with, but many of you also feel uncertainty about the future. I want you to know that we’re making these decisions to make sure our future is strong.
“I believe we are deeply underestimated as a company today. Billions of people use our services to connect, and our communities keep growing. Our core business is among the most profitable ever built with huge potential ahead. And we’re leading in developing the technology to define the future of social connection and the next computing platform. We do historically important work. I’m confident that if we work efficiently, we’ll come out of this downturn stronger and more resilient than ever.
“We’ll share more on how we’ll operate as a streamlined organization to achieve our priorities in the weeks ahead. For now, I’ll say one more time how thankful I am to those of you who are leaving for everything you’ve done to advance our mission.”
Featured image: Flickr
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‘Busiest’ Easter bank holiday weekend expected as 19 million people hit the roads
Emily Sergeant
It’s expected to be one of the busiest Easter bank holidays in three years, as millions of people travel across the UK.
With the four-day weekend upon us, and people nationwide prepare to make the journey to visit family or friends over their extra couple of days off work or school, the RAC has now issued one of its annual travel warnings – anticipating that 19 million people could be hitting the roads from this Thursday evening onwards.
It’s all according to a new study of drivers’ spring getaway plans carried out by the RAC and traffic analytics specialists INRIX.
Research is suggesting that traffic will be equally severe on Thursday 17, Good Friday, and Saturday 19 April, with drivers planning around 2.7 million trips every day during that period, but the number of planned trips does drop slightly on Easter Sunday to 2.5 million.
Sadly, that dip is only short-lived, as the number of trips increases once again to a further 2.7 million on bank holiday Monday as millions of people look to return home.
19 million people are expected to hit the roads over the Easter bank holiday weekend / Credit: Geograph | Pxfuel
To make matters even worse, it’s thought that a further 6.2 million journeys are anticipated at some point over the Easter bank holiday weekend, but drivers planning these trips are still unsure exactly when they’ll travel.
The ‘notorious British weather’ is likely to be a big factor in travel decision making, according to the RAC.
INRIX expects that tomorrow (Thursday 17) will be the worst day for traffic, when jams are likely to increase by nearly a third (30%) more than usual.
Meanwhile, on Good Friday, the lengthiest hold-ups are expected between 11am to 1pm, so drivers are therefore being advised to start their trips as early as possible in the morning, or delay them until later in the afternoon.
Motorists are being warned to plan their journeys in advance / Credit: pxfuel
“The bank holiday weekend clashes with the end of the Easter break for many schools, which we think will change the nature of this year’s getaway,” admitted RAC breakdown spokesperson, Alice Simpson.
“Although journey numbers are still very high, we’re anticipating more day trips and weekend breaks than people heading off on one and two-week stints… [so] this could lead to a ‘hat-trick of hold-ups’ on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as drivers visit family and friends.
“But while getaway journeys may be shorter in length, we’re still expecting to see extremely high levels of traffic from Thursday onwards, with the greatest number of Easter getaway trips planned for three years.”
Alice warned that drivers should expect queues if they ‘don’t plan the best time to set off’.
“It’s always best to travel as early as possible in the morning or later in the day when most of the traffic has eased,” she added.
Featured Image – Geograph
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Onlookers ‘in tears’ after tiny duckling rescued from storm drain in beauty spot
Daisy Jackson
The RSPCA has shared a heartwarming video of a reunion between a tiny duckling and his mum, after the baby bird fell into a storm drain.
The charity, with the help of staff in the nearby Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour, managed to fish the tiny bird out of the storm drain in a painstaking two-hour-long operation.
Miraculously, the duckling was unharmed, and his mum was waiting nearby on the canal in Saddleworth ready to be reunited with her baby.
The RSPCA has now thanked the staff member who helped rescue the duckling, and issued a warning to the public to keep dogs on a lead when near wildlife, believing the poor bird was chased by a dog before falling down the five-feet-high grid.
The rescue operation too place in Diggle last Wednesday 9 April, with Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans taking on the ‘long and painstaking’ process of tempting the duckling into a net.
Lee said: “I wasn’t able to lift the grid so the only thing I could do was push an extendable pole straight down and try to catch the duckling in a net. There wasn’t a lot of room for manoeuvre and the net kept catching on all the debris.
“Just when I thought I’d been successful, the duckling kept disappearing into a drain on one side and then popping out again. A member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s had just finished her shift and came across to the other side of the canal to help me. I unscrewed the top of the pole with the net and held it down on one side of the drain while she used another section to gently encourage the bird to go into the net.
“It was quite a long and painstaking rescue but we eventually managed to bring the little one back up safely after more than two hours.”
The pair then placed the duckling into a cardboard box before heading further up the canal to reunite them with their mother and six sibling ducklings.
The adult duck ‘instantly recognised’ the chirping and swam straight towards it.
Lee added: “A little crowd had gathered and as the family were reunited people were shedding tears. It was a really lovely moment to see them all back together.
“I’d especially like to thank the member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s who offered an extra pair of hands – I couldn’t have done it without her – and to all the people in the area who stopped and were concerned.
“Storm drains can be a bit of a menace for ducklings, especially at this time of the year when there are babies around, and this brood was only a few days old.”
Daisy Jackson -
9th November 2022 
