Meta shareholder Altimeter Capital has called on CEO Mark Zuckerberg to cut jobs and reduce spending in the metaverse in order for Meta to “get its mojo back.”
In an open letter shared on Monday and addressed to Zuckerberg, Altimeter CEO Brad Gerstner said Meta has “lost the confidence of investors” due to its lackluster financial earnings over the last year and recent pivot toward augmented and virtual reality. To get back on the right path, Gerstner said Meta must trim its staffing expenses by 20 percent by Jan. 1, cut its capital expenditure $30 billion to at least $25 billion and put a $5 billion yearly cap on its investments into the metaverse and Reality Labs.
“Like many other companies in a zero rate world,” Gerstner said, “Meta has drifted into the land of excess — too many people, too many ideas, too little urgency. This lack of focus and fitness is obscured when growth is easy but deadly when growth slows and technology changes.”
A spokesperson for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zuckerberg has already told staffers and investors earlier this year that the company would be cutting its headcount. “Many teams are going to shrink so that we can shift energy to other areas inside the company,” Zuckerberg said during a July earnings call.
Meta is scheduled to reports its third quarter earnings on Oct. 26.