Meta layoffs: Mark Zuckerberg’s company fires 20 employees, further job cuts in the pipeline—here’s why

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has fired around 20 employees for "leaking confidential information outside the company", according to a report in The Verge, citing a company spokesperson.

In a statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Dave Arnold said, “We tell employees when they join the company, and we offer periodic reminders, that it is against our policies to leak internal information, no matter the intent,”

“We recently conducted an investigation that resulted in roughly 20 employees being terminated for sharing confidential information outside the company, and we expect there will be more. We take this seriously, and will continue to take action when we identify leaks.” Arnold added.

In recent months, Meta has sought to stem leaks as it implemented drastic policy changes, including the abolition of company-wide DEI programmes and the removal of content moderation on its social media platforms. The company's efforts to tighten internal controls appear to be aimed at preventing details of these changes from becoming public.

These attempts have been seen by many as a change in Meta's policy as it tries to cozy up to the new administration led by Donald Trump. Meta had also recently agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump against the company after it suspended his accounts following the attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021, according to sources.

Recently, Zuckerberg had shared his frustration with internal Meta conversations getting leaked in a meeting – which was also eventually leaked and shared by 404 Media. Zuckerberg had allegedly said, “We try to be really open, and then everything I say leaks,”

Meta's other layoffs:

Meta also recently fired around 3,000 employees or almost 5% of its workforce earlier this month in a layoff that targetted “low-performers”. Meanwhile, the company is also doubling down on AI as CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised an investment of $65 billion in the field and also made it a goal to see Meta AI as the top AI assistant in the market.