November 11, 2022
Meta cuts a record number of jobs
This week Zuckerberg cuts costs at Meta as he tries to rescue his bet on the metaverse. FTX goes to the brink of bankruptcy and Disney+ finds a path to profit. These are the five big stories from the week that was. 1. Swinging axe Meta cut more than 11,000 jobs this week. At around…
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This week Zuckerberg cuts costs at Meta as he tries to rescue his bet on the metaverse. FTX goes to the brink of bankruptcy and Disney+ finds a path to profit. These are the five big stories from the week that was.
1. Swinging axe
Meta cut more than 11,000 jobs this week. At around 13% of its entire workforce, it constitutes the single biggest tech layoff of 2022.
While Meta has seriously underperformed the sector this year, its reasons for cutting are the same, mostly that it grew far too big in a slowing market.
Advertising dollars, its lifeblood, are drying up, Apple’s privacy changes and stiff competition make it even tougher.
Zuckerberg points to the need for new revenue to justify his gamble on the metaverse. But billion-dollar losses are most certainly responsible for many of these cuts.
2. Crypto crunch
FTX, the world’s second largest crypto exchange, is on the brink of bankruptcy after a run on its assets exposed its precarious financials.
In this high drama, rival Binance has played both its largest adversary and briefly its purported rescuer. You can read all the juicy details here.
3. Sweet relief
Overnight Wall Street put on its best show in two years, surging after US inflation figures came in at their lowest level since January.
Demonstrating that rate hikes are working, the data raises the prospect that interest rates may peak sooner than expected.
4. Road to El Dorado
Overall Disney results disappointed investors this week but its streaming service continues to grow, albeit at cost.
Disney+ added 12.1 million extra subscribers, 4 million more than expected, putting it on track to turn a profit in 2024.
5. Number nine
Media giant Nine meanwhile says it has no plans to introduce ads to Stan as it denies rumours that it is looking to sell the streaming service.
It’s been a big week for the company, tying up the broadcast rights to the Australian Open until 2029 for $425 million.
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