Mark Zuckerberg hinted at further restructuring of the company, to focus on its long-term metaverse and AI projects.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has shared its fourth-quarter results, reporting better-than-expected numbers.
The company, which has been criticized for pivoting its business model towards the metaverse, a digital representation of the real world, is now trying to refocus after the heavy losses caused by R&D in this technology. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the management theme for 2023 would be the “Year of Efficiency.”
Meta Reports Better than Expected Q4 2022 Results
Meta, the social enterprise, reported slightly positive results for the fourth quarter of 2022, exceeding revenue expectations and providing a deeper explanation of the direction the company will take during 2023. The company posted revenues of $32.17 billion, up from $31,530. million estimated, giving hope to investors about the recovery of the company in the future.
Zuckerberg stated that as part of its new focus on efficiency, “the company will work to flatten our organizational structure and eliminate some levels of middle management to make faster decisions, as well as implement AI tools to help our engineers be more productive.”
In addition, Zuckerberg explained that, in the future, Meta will be more aggressive in pulling the plug on underperforming or non-critical projects.
Metaverse Remains a Long-Term Priority
While Reality Labs, the company’s metaverse division, suffered nearly $14 billion in losses through 2022, Zuckerberg still sees this as a long-term priority. Zuckerberg also listed AI as one of the company’s main focuses, aiming to include it as an operational advantage to better monetize its Reels short video product.
Zuckerberg stated that “the two main technology waves driving our roadmap are AI today and, in the longer term, the metaverse.”
Meta’s CFO, Susan Li, clarified that Meta expects to lose more money from the Reality Labs operation in 2023, but justified it by the great opportunities this could bring for the company. She explained it as follows:
“We still expect our full-year Reality Labs losses to increase in 2023, and we will continue to invest significantly in this area given the significant long-term opportunities we see.”
In September, the company announced several adjustments to reduce its operating expenses, including laying off 11,000 workers, representing 13% of its workforce, as part of its efficiency strategy.
At the time, Zuckerberg mentioned the current macroeconomic conditions and increased competition as aggravators of the situation caused by a drop in revenue, and thus his decision to let go of over 10% of Meta’s workforce.
By Audy Castaneda
