In tech news, the internet is still dead.
And its much-hyped replacement looks to be stillborn.
Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) said on Wednesday it would cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce, in one of the year’s biggest layoffs as the Facebook parent battles soaring costs from its push into the metaverse amid a weak advertising market.
The mass layoffs, the first in Meta’s 18-year history, follow thousands of job cuts at other major tech companies including Elon Musk-owned Twitter and Microsoft Corp.
Silicon Valley used to elicit awe from the masses.
These days, it’s more of a lolcow.
Almost like the heirs to the kingdom can’t fill their predecessors’ shoes.
The pandemic-led boom that boosted tech companies and their valuations has turned into a bust this year in the face of decades-high inflation and rapidly rising interest rates.
“Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a message to employees.
“I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”
You can hear the effeminate California English accent. And note the unspecified pronouns. They’re how corporate types deflect blame now that people are on to Clintonian use of passive voice.
[Meta] now expects 2023 expenses of as much as $100 billion, compared with up to $100 billion previously, with more of the resources being focused on areas such as artificial intelligence, ads, business platforms and the metaverse.
Who copyedits this muck?
You know for sure it’s not me.
But to get serious for a minute, what in the world is Zuckerberg doing with all that money?
With that budget, he could have made 300 Star Citizens.
And all he’s managed so far is a remake of the Wii Store?
Zuck should rename it the Betaverse – and not just because it’s a glitchy prototype.
Not that it matters too much. Anyone with any sense deleted his Facebook account back when it was exposed as a user info pipeline to the feds.
Don’t give personal info or money to people who hate you.
