Meta (formerly Facebook) has denied reports that its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will step down next year due to the social network’s slow growth and massive layoffs.
The Leak portal first reported, citing a source familiar with Meta’s plans, that “Zuckerberg is set to resign next year.” According to the report, Zuckerberg has decided to step down and that it will not “affect metaverse,” his multibillion-dollar project. Meta’s Communications Director, Andy Stone, refuted the report late Tuesday, tweeting, “This is false.” Despite serious concerns raised by investors and industry experts, Zuckerberg is determined to pursue his Metaverse vision aggressively. Earlier this month, in one of the worst layoffs in tech history, Zuckerberg fired over 11,000 employees — roughly 13% of the global workforce — and extended the hiring freeze until Q1 2023.