Meta Spokesperson Denies Report of Zuckerberg Steeping Down Next Year

https://news.yahoo.com/meta-denies-report-mark-zuckerberg-192800473.html

Recent rumors suggesting Mark Zuckerberg plans to step down as the Meta’s CEO next year are incorrect, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

The denial by communications official Andy Stone follows a report by the internet outlet “The Leak” claiming Zuckerberg decided on his own to leave Meta, the parent company of social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

“This is false,” Stone tweeted.

Speculation and uncertainties have swirled for months around the company’s next steps. Last week, Zuckerberg revealed Meta planned to lay off some 11,000 employees, or about 13% of its workforce.

The company also recently extended a hiring freeze through next year’s first quarter amid skepticism and concern from the company’s shareholders and investors, which sent shares tumbling more than 71% since the beginning of the year.

Meta’s steps to cut back also include trimming its real estate and discretionary spending while restructuring the company’s teams.

Meta, like many social media companies, enjoyed a huge boost during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, which forced many to turn to their phones and computers for entertainment. That spike was much shorter-lived than most experts anticipated, Zuckerberg said.

In announcing the mass layoffs, the 38-year-old billionaire acknowledged Meta over-invested after the coronavirus pandemic. Zuckerberg admits he wrongfully believed the increase in online activity would endure, even as lockdowns were lifted and the world returned to normal.

The stark decline comes after the company, formerly known as Facebook, rebranded as Meta last year with plans to pivot toward the metaverse — a new version of the internet with a focus on artificial intelligence that’s seemingly still years away from reality.