65% from 85%: Bonus slashed for Meta Platforms staff, says report

Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc is planning to lower bonus pays for some employees, and assess staff performance more frequently, as a part of a larger restructuring, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing an internal memo.

The social media giant will be assessing performance of employees, and those who get a rating of ‘met most expectations’ in their 2023 year-end reviews will receive a smaller percentage of bonus and restricted stock award due in March 2024, the report said. The bonus multiplier for that grade has been cut to 65 per cent from 85 per cent earlier, WSJ added.

“We understand that while this is a significant change that might disappoint some people, it aligns with our continued focus on maintaining a high-performance culture,” WSJ said. The company will also restart assessing staff performance twice a year, the report said. Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Meta gave thousands of employees subpar ratings in its most recent round of performance reviews, WSJ reported.  

Meta’s leadership expected the reviews to lead more employees to leave in the subsequent weeks, WSJ reported. The firm, in the memo, said introduction of the midyear review wasn’t related to the coming restructuring, but aimed to provide “a calibrated performance signal for fairness.” 

The review process is due to kick off in June and conclude in July according to the memo.

Disney scraps metaverse unit

Walt Disney has eliminated its next-generation storytelling and consumer-experiences unit, the small division that was developing metaverse strategies, according sources, as part of a broader restructuring that is expected to reduce head count by around 7,000 across the company over the next two months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Headed by Mike White, a former Disney consumer-products executive, the division was tasked with finding ways to tell interactive stories in new technological formats using Disney’s extensive library of intellectual property, the people said.

All of the team’s roughly 50 members have lost their jobs, the people said. White remains at the company, although what his new role will be is unclear. He couldn’t be reached for comment.

- Agencies