Meta is back at it again with another round of mass layoffs, proving that no matter how many times it trims its workforce, there’s always room for more “efficiency”. The tech giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced it will cut another 5% of its employees, amounting to thousands of jobs lost. The layoffs started on Monday, with employees in the Bay Area and beyond bracing for yet another round of pink slips.

The Cost of ‘Efficiency’

This move follows Meta’s so-called “Year of Efficiency” in 2024, which saw the company axe over 21,000 employees. Apparently, that wasn’t enough, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is doubling down on his commitment to shareholders by slashing even more jobs. The latest cuts affect workers across multiple departments, though reports indicate that non-engineering roles are taking the biggest hit.

In an internal memo, META justified the layoffs by stating that the company needs to stay “lean” and “focused” in an increasingly competitive AI-driven landscape. Translation: Wall Street wants better margins, and that means fewer salaries to pay.

Bay Area Takes Another Hit

For the Bay Area, which has already suffered from widespread tech layoffs in recent years, this is yet another gut punch. META is one of the region’s biggest employers, and every layoff wave sends ripples through the local economy. As housing costs remain sky-high and job opportunities shrink, the latest job cuts will only add to the uncertainty for many tech workers.

Meta claims these cuts will help the company reallocate resources toward artificial intelligence and the metaverse, two areas where it’s desperately trying to stay ahead of the competition. However, with its metaverse ambitions still struggling to gain mainstream traction and AI investments requiring significant time and capital, it’s unclear if these layoffs will actually make META more competitive or just temporarily boost its stock price.

One thing is certain: as long as the market demands ever-higher profits, Big Tech will continue to treat employees as disposable assets. And for those still working at META, the question isn’t if more layoffs are coming, it’s when.