Internal Meta memo tells managers how performance-based job cuts will work

• Meta plans to cut 5% of low-performing employees.
• The cuts are part of a strategy to improve performance.
• Meta aims for 10% nonregrettable attrition, combining last year's and this year's targets.

A memo from one of Meta's human-resources executives explained to managers on Tuesday how the company's performance-based job cuts would work in the coming weeks.

Hillary Champion, Meta's director of people development growth programs, instructed managers to categorize employees into performance tiers based on their contributions over the past year, according to the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Business Insider.

Champion wrote in the memo that Meta aimed to reach 10% nonregrettable attrition by the end of this performance cycle, combining last year's 5% with an additional 5% this year. These are employees that the company wouldn't consider a loss if they left.

She signaled that Meta was ramping up pressure on underperformers and trying to more quickly decide who stays and who goes.

"We have really ambitious goals, so we need to manage our workforce in a way that ensures we have the strongest talent working here and can move faster in managing out low performers so that we can bring new people in," Champion said.

Her guidance for managers came shortly after Meta told employees it was preparing to cut about 5% of its lowest-performing staffers as part of an effort to "raise the bar." Meta said it intended to backfill these roles in 2025.

Meta's performance ratings, and who will be cut

BI also obtained a copy of Meta's internal performance guidance on Tuesday. This document describes several categories, one of which is "met most expectations." Other ratings include "met some" and "did not meet."

"Anyone who receives a rating of 'Met Some' or 'Did Not Meet' will be automatically added to the performance termination list," Champion told Meta managers.

"The number of people in the 'Met Most' category to be terminated will vary," she added.

This depends partly on whether Meta's target of 10% nonregrettable attrition is met. Champion shared a theoretical example: If a team had 5% nonregrettable attrition in 2024 and then put 3% of employees in the "met some" rating, an extra 2% of workers from the "met most" group would need to be cut to hit the 10% total.

The coming job cuts are part of a broader strategy to reshape Meta's workforce and become more efficient amid huge investments in AI, virtual reality, and the future of social media.

Last week the company rolled back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and disbanded its third-party fact-checking program.

Here's the memo from Champion:

Manager Update for the Performance@ Process

Following up on Mark's announcement today, I want to share some details about the role you will need to play through this performance cycle, and offer some guidance on how to lead through this.

What's Happening

• We have really ambitious goals, so we need to manage our workforce in a way that ensures we have the strongest talent working here and can move faster in managing out low performers so that we can bring new people in. As a result, we are exiting approximately 5% of our lowest performers.
• Calibrations continue to be our process for differentiating performance, recognizing impact, and making promotion decisions. In addition to the process overview shared in December, we will be using the calibration window to identify the lowest performers for performance termination.
• Company-wide, we expect to reach 10% non-regrettable attrition by the end of this Performance cycle, inclusive of ~5% non-regrettable attrition from 2024. This means we are aiming to exit approximately another 5% of our current employees who have been with the company long enough to receive a performance rating. The exact percentage will vary by org depending on their non-regrettable attrition in 2024.
• Those who are terminated for performance will receive generous severance packages, in line with previous cuts.
• Org leaders will share more on the the specific backfill process for your Org.

How Performance Calibrations will Work

Below is a topline view of what to expect. HRBPs will guide teams through this and provide more details during calibrations.

- This will be a normal calibration process and we will use the time to identify our strongest performers in addition to our lowest. We will discuss all ratings, flags, edge cases and promotions as usual.

• Consistent with our distribution guidance, teams will need to identify 12-15% of employees who are eligible to receive a performance rating as Met Most and Below ("MMB"). This includes any 2024 non-regrettable attrition, which will be visible in the performance tool and shared with team leaders during calibrations.
  • Example: If your org's 2024 NR attrition was 5%, then your team will need to identify 7-10% to receive MMB ratings in order to meet the 12-15% total.
• As you go through calibrations, your HRBP will also help you differentiate performance by utilizing the Met Some rating more than we have in the past.
• Anyone who receives a rating of "Met Some" or "Did Not Meet" will be automatically added to the performance termination list.
• Later in the calibration process, your Director and VP will review those with a "Met Most" rating to determine who will be terminated to meet the required 10% target. The number of people in the "Met Most" category to be terminated will vary, depending on your org's 2024 non-regrettable attrition rate and how many people are rated "Met Some" or "Did Not Meet"
  • Example: If your org had 5% non-regrettable attrition in 2024, and through calibrations put 3% in the "Met Some" rating, Directors and above will need to select an additional 2% from the "Met Most" group in order to reach the 10% total.
• You should use the flag and notes features within the performance tool to make any recommendations about whether someone with a "Met Most" rating should be included in the performance terminations or not.

Do you work at Meta? Contact BI reporters from a nonwork email and device at jmann@businessinsider.com and pdixit@businessinsider.com.

You can also reach them via Signal at jyotimann.11 and +1408-905-9124.