Meta, the social media company founded and run by Mark Zuckerberg, started 2023 on a more unusual note by paying some of its employees to do nothing, Business Insider reports.

Mark ZuckerbergPhoto: CNP/AdMedia/Sipa Press/Profimedia

The situation is all the more surprising because the American technology giant, which announced in November that it would lay off 11,000 employees, promised investors that 2023 would be a “year of efficiency.”

“It’s a sad time, there’s no doubt about it,” Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a note to employees at the time, admitting that he was wrong to believe that the tech sector would continue to grow post-pandemic, with much moving online.

“I was wrong and I take responsibility,” he said late last year.

The Financial Times reported this Sunday that Meta is preparing to announce a new round of layoffs after 2022.

Facebook continues to hire, increasing its workforce by 27,000 in 2020 and 2021 and by 15,000 in the first nine months of 2022. First, at the end of 2022, the company announced mass layoffs, the first in its history.

Meta/Facebook employees are frustrated with the situation at Zuckerberg’s company

In recent weeks, the international press has written about the fact that some Meta employees are demoralized and disappointed with what is happening in the company. Some projects will be canceled and “middle management” jobs will be eliminated.

However, the situation surrounding the layoffs appears to have caused confusion about some of the company’s budgets, which are usually prepared by the end of the calendar year, as well as the number of employees who will remain in some departments.

Several employees at Mark Zuckerberg’s company told the FT that as a result, projects and decisions that would normally be approved or rejected within days are delayed much longer before getting the green light or being scrapped.

The FT’s sources say the situation has led to some staff “not working” because their managers have been unable to plan their schedules.

“Honestly, it’s still a mess. The performance year begins with some people being paid to do nothing,” said one of the sources quoted by the Financial Times.