Meta warns of “serious times” and is gearing up for a leaner second half of 2022, according to an internal memo distributed to employees this week. The message comes from Chief Product Officer Chris Cox and outlines the company’s priorities and challenges for the future.
“I must underline that we are in serious times here and the headwinds are fierce,” Cox wrote in the memo obtained by The edge and published in full below. “We need to perform flawlessly in a slower-growth environment, where teams shouldn’t expect a massive influx of new engineers and budgets.”
The biggest revenue challenge comes from privacy changes impacting Meta’s advertising business and macroeconomic pressures, Cox said in the memo, which was first reported by Reuters†Cox says earning Reels, the company’s short video TikTok copy, as quickly as possible is a top priority.
Cox also identifies six areas where he believes Facebook needs to deepen its investments. These include metaverse products; AI; send messages; rolls keep pushing; generate income; and comply with new privacy requirements. Cox says teams need to “prioritize more relentlessly” without the help of new staff or budgets.
Meta had already told employees that a delay was imminent. In May, the company froze the hiring of a number of teams, including teams working on shopping and video chatting products. The company’s stock has plunged in the past five months as investors worry about slowing growth and expensive investments in the metaverse that could take years to pay off. Meta had no comment on this story.
Read the full memo below:
