Meta withdraws UK internship offer as company freezes new hires

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has pulled internship offers from people who were set to start working at the company’s London offices next year, ending a coveted intern program as the social media and tech giant tries to cut costs.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week announced plans to cut staff, freeze hirings and decrease budgets for most teams in order to grapple with falling revenue.

“This company-wide hiring shift is to ensure that our hiring targets are aligned with our highest-priority efforts and business needs,” a Meta spokesperson told The Hill, noting that the decision to end the coveted internship program was “a last resort.”

The New York Post reported that the announcement was made via email, pulling the rug out from under interns who had made their plans to start at the company in January 2023.

Meta’s second quarter revenue this year fell a percentage point from the second quarter of 2021, coming in at $28.8 billion, and the company expects its third quarter revenue to take another dip.

At the same time, the company’s costs rose 22 percent, from $16.7 billion in the second quarter last year to $20.4 billion in the second quarter of 2022.

As the country struggles under the weight of inflation and fears of a potential recession, tech companies have appeared to try and batten down by conducting hiring freezes and layoffs.

The Hill has reached out to Meta and Facebook for more.

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