Facebook Founder,Mark Zuckerberg Makes a Dark Prediction (See Details)

The mood has changed at the headquarters of Meta Platforms  (META) – Get Meta Platforms Inc. Report, parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, in Menlo Park, Calif.

The atmosphere is beginning to resemble that currently found in many companies in America where the consequences of a looming recession are feared.

For months now, many economists have been anticipating a sharp downturn in the economy due to aggressive monetary policy by the Federal Reserve and central banks around the world to combat record price increases everywhere. The Russian war in Ukraine has further exacerbated the supply chain problems caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

This cocktail, experts say, will affect consumption. Households should, these experts explain, reduce their expenses for fear of a disappointing tomorrow and focus only on essential expenses.

‘Worst Downturn’

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, now seems to share this pessimistic view. During the traditional weekly Q&A session with company employees on June 30, he said he expected “one of the worst downturns that we’ve seen in recent history,” according to an audio recording obtained by Reuters.

Consequently, Meta will accentuate its cost reduction policy. The firm only plans to hire between 6,000 and 7,000 new engineers in 2022, against an initial project of 10,000 new recruits, indicates Reuters. It is therefore a revision of 30% to 40%.

In May, a source told TheStreet that the social media giant was planning to halt or in some cases slow hiring for most mid-to-senior level positions. The goal was to revise priorities and align hiring targets with current market estimates and pacing, the source said.

“We regularly re-evaluate our talent pipeline according to our business needs and in light of the expense guidance given for this earnings period, we are slowing its growth accordingly,” a Meta spokesperson told TheStreet in an emailed statement. “However, we will continue to grow our workforce to ensure we focus on long-term impact.”

-The Street.