Meta denies report Zuckerberg is resigning

Facebook’s parent company Meta denied a report that CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to resign next year.

“This is false,” Andy Stone, Meta’s communications director, said in a tweet responding to the story from the news outlet The Leak, which focuses on leaks in the “political and entertainment landscape,” according to its website.

The Leak cited an unnamed source in reporting that Zuckerberg chose to step down himself.

The report and denial come as Meta faces financial struggles amid high inflation and a potential recession in the near future.

Zuckerberg announced in a message to employees earlier this month that the company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, will lay off more than 11,000 employees, reducing its size by about 13 percent.

He also said the company will cut discretionary spending and extend a hiring freeze through the first quarter of next year.

Zuckerberg said he and others expected that increased revenue growth in e-commerce at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic would be permanent, causing him to invest Meta’s interests heavily. But an economic downturn, increased competition and difficulties with online advertising caused the company’s revenue to be much lower than expected.

Various other major Big Tech companies like Amazon and Twitter have also laid off thousands of employees recently amid rising costs.

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