Twitter and Facebook's parent company Meta have been in the news for sacking sizeable portions of their workforce, impacting professionals around the world. The mass layoffs seemed thoughtless as people came forward to share how they received the news: past midnight or during their maternity leave are just some examples.
But Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg believes he handled the situation better than Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner. At a company townhall meeting held on Friday, he said Musk hadn't had the time to plan the layoffs as thoughtfully as Meta and other companies did, The Insider reported, quoting those who attended the meeting.
But Zuckerberg acknowledged there are no good answers even if companies approach layoffs thoughtfully.
Meta announced earlier this week it was laying off more than 11,000 employees across Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram as well as the research team focussed on its metaverse ambitions -- which have resulted in losses worth billions.
Zuckerberg described the layoffs as "the most difficult changes we've made in Meta's history".
"I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here," Zuckerberg told his staff. "I know this is tough for everyone, and I'm especially sorry to those impacted."
The week before, Twitter had sacked nearly 50 percent of its staff. Musk said he had no choice because the social network was losing more than $4 million per day.
Before the sackings, Twitter blocked access to its offices and told workers to wait at home for communication from the company.
One employee told news agency AFP: "It's a pretty inhumane way to treat people. It seems like a mercenary effort, they're trying to save money at all cost."
Twitter's co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey apologised for the massive layoffs, saying he grew the company too quickly.
"I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation," he said.
(With inputs from AFP)
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