Meta plans bonus cut for some executives - WSJ

© Reuters

By Geoffrey Smith

Investing.com -- Social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is set to cut bonuses for some executives, in what appears to be the company's latest effort to cut costs and restore profitability.

The Wall Street Journal cited an internal memo as saying that the current year's bonus round, which will begin in June and conclude by July, will cut the bonus multiplier for employees who only meet "most" expectations to 65% from 85% previously. Restricted stock awards will also be pared down in parallel, it said.

In addition, the memo cited by the WSJ indicated that the parent of Facebook and Instagram will also revert to a former practice of reviewing performance twice a year.

"These updates reflect changes we’re making based on what we learned about the process in 2022 and what we’re optimizing for in the year ahead,” the memo said.

Meta management will discuss the changes in a top-level meeting on Tuesday, and aims to announce the changes broadly to employees on Thursday, the WSJ reported.

The move follows hard on the heels of two rounds of job cuts that will slash the company's workforce by 21,000, as the company pares its expensive bets on future technologies to concentrate on squeezing more out of its current businesses.

Meta stock has rallied hard since November, more than doubling in value since CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that 2023 would be what he called the "year of efficiency". Even so, the stock still trades at barely half of its 2021 peak, the result of a weakening climate for advertising and increased competition, notably from Chinese rival TikTok.

While the stock has reacted favorably to the job cut announcements, the reported bonus cuts failed to replicate that effect. By 07:10 ET (11:10 GMT), Meta stock was down 0.8% in premarket trading.