Meta and Twitter layoffs: Silicon Valley in decline?

Meta is beginning massive layoffs, following in the footsteps of other tech giants. The company has had a difficult year after lost half a trillion dollars in value by market capitalization. In October the company announced a 52% year-on-year drop in third quarter profits, and disappointing forecasts for the holiday quarter as well as further costs in 2023. This led to Meta's stock value plummeting by around $67 billion (€67.4 billion), losing around a quarter of its stock market price in one day.

The company's woes come as advertisers slim down their budgets amid rising inflation. The belt-tightening has also raised questions about Zuckerberg's new high-cost project the Metaverse which he has said will only pay off around 10 years down the line.

Other Silicon Valley firms such as Stripe and Lyft announced mass layoffs last week, while online retail giant Amazon said it would put corporate hiring on ice. Facebook's social media rival Twitter also recently laid off around half of its 7,500-strong staff, soon after billionaire Elon Musk finally completed his purchase of the company.