Meta Calls 2023 a ‘Year of Efficiency;’ Anticipates More Losses in Its Metaverse Division

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, has shared its fourth quarter results, reporting better numbers than expected. While the company beat revenue estimates, CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared 2023 a “Year of Efficiency,” hinting at a further restructuration of the company to focus on its AI (artificial intelligence) and metaverse projects in the longer term

Meta, the social company, reported mild positive results for Q4 2022, beating revenue expectations, and giving a deeper explanation of the direction that the company will take during 2023. The company received revenues of $32.17 billion, higher than the $31.53 billion estimated, giving hope to investors about the recovery of the company in the future.

The company, which has been criticized for the pivot of its business model to the metaverse, a digital representation of the real world, is now trying to refocus after the heavy losses that R&D in this tech has brought them. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the management theme of 2023 would be the “Year of Efficiency.”

Zuckerberg stated that as part of this new focus, “the company will work on flattening our org structure and removing some layers of middle management to make decisions faster as well as deploying AI tools to help our engineers be more productive.” Furthermore, Zuckerberg explained that going forward, Meta will be more aggressive in pulling the plug on underperforming or non-crucial projects.

While Reality Labs, the metaverse division of the company, sustained losses of almost $14 billion dollars during 2022, Zuckerberg still considers this a priority in the longer term. Zuckerberg also mentioned AI as one of the main focuses of the company, aiming to include it as an operational advantage to better monetize its Reels short video product.

Zuckerberg stated:

The two major technological waves driving our roadmap are AI today and over the longer term, the metaverse.

Meta CFO Susan Li clarified that Meta expects to lose more money in the operation of Reality Labs in 2023, but justified this due to the great opportunities this might bring the company. She explained:

We still expect our full-year Reality Labs losses to increase in 2023, and we are going to continue to invest meaningfully in this area given the significant long-term opportunities that we see.

In September, the company announced several adjustments to lower its operative expenses, including laying off 11,000 workers, representing 13% of its headcount, as part of its efficiency push.

What do you think about the direction Meta is taking in 2023? Tell us in the comments section below.