Meta Will Freeze Most Hiring
Meta has internal challenges, like many tech companies. As a result, its value has declined since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on September 22. The company also announced a hiring freeze in May, requiring employees to cut back on spending. Snapchat also announced a hiring freeze last month, reducing its workforce by 20%. Google parent company Alphabet, Inc. slowed its hiring pace in 2020 and 2021.
Sheryl Sandberg’s ouster from Meta
The ouster of Sandberg from Meta comes at a time when the social network is facing tough economic conditions. The company’s ad business is struggling and TikTok is threatening to take over the company’s ad revenues. Sandberg had been at Meta since 2012 and has been instrumental in the company’s growth. Sandberg has led the company to become one of the fastest-growing social networks in the world, but her departure has left Meta less competitive than it had been.
The company has had several pivots over the last couple of years. The most recent was the company’s rebranding, and the stock price has declined more than 40% this year. Moreover, Meta’s employees are compensated in stock, and their personal wealth is on the line.
Global economic slowdown
The United States’ economic recovery from the recession is accelerating, but global economies are in trouble. Inflation is rising, and tighter monetary policy is impacting companies around the world. In China, the real estate crisis is deepening, reducing consumer spending power. China’s GDP growth is projected to slow to 3.3 percent this year, the slowest rate in four decades. China’s economy has been affected by a coronavirus outbreak, leading to the strictest lockdowns since the pandemic. In Europe, some countries have suffered recessions in the last decade.
Many companies are considering a hiring freeze. While most companies plan to lay off employees during a recession, a growing percentage plan to hire freelancers to fill the talent void. Companies that are fully remote or hybrid are less likely to implement hiring freezes.
Apple’s ad tracking changes
Many small businesses are feeling the heat of the new Apple ad tracking changes. They say that it is too difficult to reach potential customers without ad tracking, and ad prices are already rising. Facebook, which generates almost all of its revenue from advertising, warned investors in August that the change could harm the company. It has taken out ads in major newspapers to explain why it opposes the new policy. It has also introduced a new hashtag addressing the issue of privacy.
The changes to Apple’s ad tracking system have been in the works for months. The company added new labels to its App Store in December that will help users understand what data companies collect and share. Larger companies will need dedicated engineering and analytics teams to figure out how to navigate the changes. However, small businesses may not have the resources to create these teams in-house.
Competition with TikTok
Despite its rapid growth and potential, TikTok is facing a slowdown in its US market. The company is freezing most hiring and plans to freeze some positions in the coming months. Its CEO has stated that the company is “ready” for a slowdown, but he has also projected growth for the company. The company is also under new political pressure in the US. While the company is not shutting down, it will likely make changes to its workforce in response to the new political climate.
Competition with TikTok is already making Big Tech companies nervous. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, has said that the Chinese company is a threat to the company’s revenue. He has also said that he is concerned that TikTok may become dominant, which could hurt the company’s growth. The company is also facing intense congressional scrutiny over the security of its user data.
