This is the Year of Efficiency. That was Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's message last month

in a lengthy public Facebook post announcing the company would be laying off 10,000 people.

Just months earlier, last November, Meta announced it would lay off another 11,000 employees.

In total, the layoffs could represent nearly a quarter of Meta's workforce.

In the most recent announcement, Zuckerberg used phrases like flatter is faster and leaner

is better. And painted a vision of a more nimble company via quote, garbage collecting

unnecessary processes. Apart from all the jargon and buzzwords, something in Zuckerberg's

post struck Wall Street Journal Technology reporter Sam Schechner.

He said that this is something that he sees continuing for many years. It's a new economic

reality. And I think that's a real tone shift from the go-go times in at least for the

earnings of tech companies during the pandemic when Meta was counting on a fundamental change

in the way people operate. And that hasn't really panned out.

The tech industry had been on a growth spurt for years. That was even before the pandemic.

But the pandemic brought with it new opportunities for expansion. People were working from home,

learning from home, socializing from home. Entertainment moved fully online with venues and

theaters closed. And suddenly, everyone needed the platforms and software that huge tech

companies provide. As Edward Jones, analyst Brian Yarborough, puts it, big tech CEO saw a

chance to capitalize on increased demand and expand.

A lot of these companies hired for growth that was occurring during the pandemic and they expected

those growth rates to continue. Amazon, for instance, grew rapidly as demand for online services

soared. The company doubled its overall head count from the year 2019 to 2021. But then in 2022,

it looked like we were coming out of the pandemic. And then Omicron happened and the war in Ukraine

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