AUSTIN, Texas — Facebook and its parent company, Meta, are laying off 222 workers in Austin as part of cuts that are happening company-wide.
According to a WARN Notice with the Texas Workforce Commission, those employees will lose their jobs on Jan. 13, 2023, including workers at Meta's West Sixth, McAllen Pass, Alterra Parkway and West Third locations. Notices for the layoffs were delivered on Wednesday.
The layoffs are part of a move to slash 11,000 jobs at Meta, or 13% of the company's workforce, as the tech industry faces challenges and revenue loss.
Meta is also backing out of an Austin real estate venture, according to a report from The Real Deal, a real estate news outlet.
During Meta's Quarter 3 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly said moving forward, the company is planning to shrink its office footprint through 2023 after being behind on revenue and due to the lack of stability in the economy.
In January, Meta signed a lease for a 589,000-square-foot, 33-floor building on Sixth and Guadalupe streets. The tower will be the tallest building in Austin.
Instead of abandoning the January deal completely, The Real Deal reports that Meta will sublease the 66-story tower to avoid termination fees and maintain cost effectiveness.
"We have increased scrutiny on all areas of operating expenses. However, these moves follow a substantial investment cycle so they will take time to play out in terms of our overall expense trajectory," Dave Wehner, Facebook's chief financial officer, reportedly said on the Quarter 3 earnings call.
The Real Deal reports that Meta has already spent $413 million last quarter and could spend upwards to $900 million this quarter on ending office leases.
"Some steps, like the ongoing rationalization of our office footprint, will lead to incremental cost in the near term. This should set us up well for future years, when we expect to return to higher rates of revenue growth," Wehner said.
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