Meta and McKinsey & Co. to cut thousands of jobs in upcoming layoffs, reports say

Tech giant Meta and consulting firm McKinsey & Co. are both planning to cut thousands of jobs in upcoming layoffs, according to media reports this week.

McKinsey & Co. is planning on eliminating 2,000 jobs under a plan called Project Magnolia, sources familiar with the plan told Bloomberg News on Tuesday. It will be one of the biggest rounds of layoffs in the company's history.

Meanwhile, Meta is preparing for another round of job cuts that could affect thousands of workers, a source familiar with the matter told The Washington Post on Wednesday.

The report comes just months after Meta laid off more than 11,000 employees, about 13% of its workforce, in November.

Meta declined to comment, but directed USA TODAY to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's comments from the company's Feb. 1 fourth quarter results call.

"We closed last year with some difficult layoffs and restructuring some teams. When we did this, I said clearly that this was the beginning of our focus on efficiency and not the end," Zuckerberg said, pointing to additional restructuring efforts by the company. "As part of this, we’re going to be more proactive about cutting projects that aren't performing or may no longer be as crucial."

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USA TODAY also reached out to McKinsey on Wednesday for statement. In a statement to Reuters and Bloomberg, a company spokesperson said McKinsey was "redesigning the way our non-client-serving teams operate for the first time in more than a decade, so that these teams can effectively support and scale with our firm."

Here's what you need to know.

McKinsey to cut 2,000 jobs under 'Project Magnolia'

According to Bloomberg's Tuesday report, McKinsey's layoffs are expected to impact support staff who don't have direct contact with the company's clients. The consulting firm is known for advising its own client businesses on a variety of ventures, including staff-reduction plans.

Sources told Bloomberg that the layoffs are part of a plan called Project Magnolia, which management hopes will help preserve the partners' compensation pool. The firm also plans to restructure how it organizes its support teams.

The final number of jobs that will be cut could change, one source told Bloomberg, as the plan is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.

Meta to cut thousands of jobs

A source told the Washington Post that Meta's next reorganization and downsizing effort will include moving some leaders into lower-level positions without direct reports. As teams grow bigger, other managers may oversee more employees.

Some people inside Meta also expect employees whose jobs have been changed to quit, the Washington Post reported. In addition to these changes, traditional reductions such as cutting jobs and projects will likely occur in the coming months, the source said.

In November:Facebook parent company Meta to lay off more than 11,000 employees  

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In the Feb. 1 results call, Zuckerberg pointed to steps the company was taking that included "removing some layers of middle management to make decisions faster" and "deploying AI tools to help our engineers be more productive."

What other companies have seen layoffs in recent months?

Outside of McKinsey and Meta, numerous other companies have seen significant layoffs in recent months.

• Earlier this month, for example, Zoom announced its plans to cut 1,300 jobs, or about 15% of its workforce.
• In January, Google's parent company Alphabet announced plans to eliminate 12,000 jobs, equivalent to 12% of its workforce.
• Microsoft  also began laying off 10,000 employees, or about 5% of its workforce.

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