Meta hired Bain & Co. as consultants before Zuckerberg’s efficiency push, anticipating layoffs and cost-cutting.

Meta hired Bain & Co. as consultants before Zuckerberg's efficiency push, anticipating layoffs and cost-cutting.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Quest for Efficiency at Meta

In a bid to streamline operations and reduce expenses, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, embarked on a mission to increase efficiency within the company. This transformation was prompted by the financial impact of Apple’s privacy changes and the need for Meta to closely analyze its costs. In early 2022, Meta engaged the services of renowned consulting firm Bain & Co. to assess its cost structure.

Bain & Co., one of the “Big Three” management consultancies and a trusted advisor to some of the world’s largest tech companies, was tasked with analyzing Meta’s expenses. As the financial impact of Apple’s privacy changes became more apparent, Meta’s revenue growth began to slow down, leading to concerns about the company’s financial health. In response, a hiring freeze was instituted, and the possibility of layoffs loomed over the organization.

The arrival of Bain marked the beginning of an organizational shift. Executives within Meta emphasized a new culture of “intensity,” urging employees to work harder and be more productive. The days of coasting and taking it easy were over. Zuckerberg made it clear that he expected his workforce to achieve more with fewer resources, and certain teams would face downsizing. Bi-annual performance reviews were revamped to be more rigorous, and quotas for identifying underperforming employees were raised. Throughout this period, Meta and Bain collaborated on a research project exploring the consumer opportunity in Southeast Asia.

By November, Meta initiated its first-ever mass layoff, parting ways with approximately 11,000 employees. In subsequent months, an additional 10,000 employees were let go in three installments. Although Bain was not directly involved in these cuts, the company’s efforts clearly aligned with Zuckerberg’s goal of increasing efficiency. He proclaimed 2023 as Meta’s “Year of Efficiency” and commended the successful creation and launch of Threads by a small team.

Despite already reducing its workforce by more than 20,000 employees, approximately 25% of its total workforce, Meta plans to further downsize this year. Zuckerberg’s objective is to bring the headcount closer to 60,000 employees by the end of the year, a figure similar to what it was at the beginning of 2020. This means a reduction of around 5,000 employees compared to the present workforce. In a call with employees in late May, Zuckerberg assured them that the company had experienced the last major wave of layoffs but acknowledged that the process would take some additional time.

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The quest for efficiency at Meta continues. As the company adapts to changing market dynamics and seeks to optimize its operations, the decisions and actions taken under Zuckerberg’s leadership will shape the future of Meta and its workforce.

Are you a Meta employee or someone else with insight to share? Contact Kali Hays at [email protected], on secure messaging app Signal at 949-280-0267, or through Twitter DM at @hayskali. Reach out using a non-work device.

• Facebook
• Mark Zuckerberg
• Meta