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When Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta would cut 5 percent of its workforce—approximately 3,600 employees—the justification seemed straightforward: removing “low performers” to maintain the company’s competitive edge. But the timing and context reveal a far more significant strategic shift. Just days before the layoffs, Zuckerberg appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast where he declared that Meta and other companies “will have AI this year that is essentially a mid-level engineer capable of writing code.” The juxtaposition wasn’t coincidental.
According to Meta’s internal memo, Zuckerberg stated: “I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster. We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle.” The company confirmed affected employees would receive “generous severance” with US notifications beginning February 10, 2025.
The TechSpot analysis of Meta’s layoffs emphasizes that those being released will be replaced by new hires throughout 2025—but the nature of those replacements signals fundamental workforce transformation. Meta has expedited hiring for machine-learning engineers while simultaneously reducing traditional software engineering roles. A mid-level engineer at Meta earns a salary somewhere in the mid-six figures, so cutting these roles while AI assumes coding responsibilities saves millions.
The broader context makes Zuckerberg’s strategy clearer. In his Joe Rogan appearance, he complained that companies were being “culturally neutered” by distancing themselves from “masculine energy.” The aggressive push to eliminate “low performers” appears symptomatic of his desire to inject machismo into Meta’s operations while simultaneously positioning the company for AI-driven efficiency.
Understanding 1.1 Million Jobs Cut in 2025: October Posts Highest Layoffs in 22 Years as AI Reshapes American Workforce provides essential context for how Meta’s actions fit within aggregate labor market trends.
According to Fortune’s reporting on Meta’s layoff execution, many workers who received favorable performance reviews—”at or above expectations” ratings that would rank them as mid-tier employees—got caught up in the cuts. “The hardest part is Meta publicly stating they’re cutting low performers, so it feels like we have the scarlet letter on our backs,” one employee told Business Insider. “People need to know we’re not underperformers.”
Meta has laid off more than 21,000 people since November 2022, with 10,000 cuts taking place in 2023 during what Zuckerberg defined as the company’s “year of efficiency.” The 2025 cuts continue that trajectory while aligning with broader AI integration goals.
Examining Target and UPS Cut 36,000+ Jobs in Single Month as White-Collar AI Recession Takes Hold reveals how retail and logistics giants implement similar efficiency-driven workforce reductions across different industry sectors.
For mid-level engineers and knowledge workers across technology companies, Meta’s “low performer” framing provides convenient cover for systematic workforce transformation that has little to do with individual performance and everything to do with AI capability evolution.
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About the Author
Jim Toppe is the founder of Toppe Consulting, a digital marketing agency specializing in law firms. He holds a Master of Science in Management from Clemson University and teaches Business Law and Marketing at Greenville Technical College. Jim also serves as publisher and editor for South Carolina Manufacturing, a digital magazine. His unique background combines legal knowledge with digital marketing expertise to help attorneys grow their practices through compliant, results-driven strategies.
Works Cited
“Meta to lay off 5% of workforce, about 3600 employees, in latest round of cuts.” TechSpot, 15 Jan. 2025, www.techspot.com/news/106363-meta-lay-off-5-workforce-about-3600-employees.html. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
Bursztynsky, Jessica. “Mark Zuckerberg warned employees to prepare for an ‘intense year.’ He just laid off 3,600 workers.” Fortune, 11 Feb. 2025, fortune.com/2025/02/11/mark-zuckerberg-meta-layoffs-low-performers/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
