What's happening?

Both Google and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, are reportedly laying off employees as the internet titans try to reduce expenses in the face of slowing growth.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta is seeking to reduce its expenditures by at least 10% within the upcoming several months, citing persons familiar with these decisions. According to the report, although Meta officials have not used the phrase "layoffs," they are attempting to reduce staff by rearranging departments and allowing employees a set amount of time to apply for other positions inside the company. Additionally, Google required some employees to apply for new positions.

Cause?

These cost-cutting measures taken by Google and Meta reveal how these ad-based businesses are preparing for a downturn in the economy. How many employees have been impacted by these changes is unknown. Both businesses have previously hinted that they were looking into cost-cutting measures.

Meta:
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, stated that the company intended to "gradually reduce personnel growth over the next year." Since the third quarter of last year, Meta has likewise been lowering its spending guidance. In order to build the metaverse, a more immersive internet where people will be able to socialize, work, and play in virtual spaces, the social media behemoth has been heavily investing in virtual reality and augmented reality. However, the company doesn't expect to see a return on these investments for many years

Google;
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai informed Google staff in July that the business would suspend hiring for the remainder of the year and encouraged staff to be "more entrepreneurial." "That may entail streamlining procedures and consolidating investments where they overlap. Other times, that entails stopping deployment and redeploying resources to areas with a higher priority.”
Furthermore, Google has also alerted about 50 employees—roughly half of those employed at the firm’s startup incubator Area 120—they need to find a new internal role within three months if they want to stay at Google.

Winding up:
According to reports, Meta and Google have set time limits for employees to find another job within the company. If their jobs were eliminated, Meta employees typically have 30 days and Google employees typically have 60 days to apply for other positions within the company.
Other tech companies have resorted to layoffs. Snap, the parent company of disappearing-message app Snapchat, announced it would cut about 20% of its staff.