Meta — "Year of Efficiency" Layoffs

Mark Zuckerberg’s “Year of Efficiency” led to 21,000 layoffs across two rounds, double the size of #3 Google’s 12,000 cuts, yet Meta’s slogan became a bitter meme among employees who had relocated for the metaverse. The first round in November 2022 eliminated 11,000 roles, and the second in March 2023 cut 10,000 more, totaling 25% of the workforce. This was the worst ratio on the list behind #1 Twitter’s 80%, but the repeated, cold branding of efficiency made it uniquely callous.