Meta and Apple announce new cost-cutting measures  

Meta and Apple recently revealed plans to adjust employee bonuses in their latest attempts to slim costs and boost efficiency. The companies are among many in the tech industry grappling with the aftermath of last summer’s hiring frenzy.   

Apple has continued to expand its cost-cutting effort over the past months. Various projects have been pushed back, budgets have been reined in, hiring has been completely paused on some teams, and leadership has been more stringent about attendance and in-office days.  

Most recently, the company announced it would delay bonuses for select corporate teams. Teams who previously received bonus payouts twice a year will now receive their entire bonus in October, matching the schedules of the majority of their colleagues. While layoffs have taken most of the tech industry by storm, financially prudent decisions like these, coupled with impressive profits, have allowed Apple to almost entirely avoid layoffs until this week. 

Recent reporting by Bloomberg revealed that the tech giant and iPhone creator will commence a small number of layoffs to its corporate retail teams. 

Meanwhile, Meta has continued company-wide layoffs. Just last month,  CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to eliminate 10,000 roles, despite a 65 percent spike in company stock. Zuckerberg is continuing his efficiency mission, most recently by announcing plans to link bonus and stock awards with employee performance.  

According to an internal memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, the midyear review will come with a three-point grading system that classifies staff as performing significantly above expectations, at or above expectations, or below them. Employees who  receive a rating of “met most expectations” will receive just 65 percent of their bonus and restricted stock award.  

The company also stated that staff assessments would shift back to twice per year. Meta attributed the changes to the company’s goal to maintain a high-performance culture.