Meta, the parent company of Facebook, experienced a series of ups and downs, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasising the importance of efficiency, implementing significant workforce reductions, and trimming employee perks. These actions have translated into remarkable stock performance for the company, leading to a staggering increase in Zuckerberg's net worth. 

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth has surged by $46.6 billion this year, reaching a total of $92.3 billion. A recent report by Fortune highlighted that despite the substantial gains, Meta has set a mandate for its employees to adopt a "scrappier" approach.

“Going through restructuring and layoffs and changes like this is obviously a very difficult thing. So it’s not like we’re going to end up in exactly the place that we were before because that wasn’t my goal. I wanted to get to a scrappier place,” Zuckerberg told employees in a company-wide call on Thursday, according to the Washington Post. 

As part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at achieving greater efficiency, Meta has undergone two rounds of job cuts. The first round involved 11,000 job reductions in November, followed by an additional 10,000 announced in March. These layoffs align with Zuckerberg's strategic vision for the company.

According to The Post, Zuckerberg shared with employees that one of his objectives is to establish a "stronger technology company capable of building better products at a faster pace." The aim is to enhance Meta's financial performance in order to support long-term projects, particularly in the face of a challenging economic landscape.

Amid the pandemic, the company underwent an extensive hiring spree, effectively doubling its workforce compared to the previous year. However, this approaches had unintended consequences, as employees felt they were being accumulated excessively, akin to collecting Pokémon cards, without meaningful tasks or responsibilities.

With Zuckerberg's proclamation of a "year of efficiency" and the company's robust first-quarter earnings, investor sentiment soared, resulting in a remarkable 23% surge in Meta's shares on that day. Bloomberg reports that Meta continues to make significant investments in artificial intelligence and the metaverse, with ongoing developments in these areas. Just last week, the company unveiled its computer chips, which have the potential to enhance its AI capabilities and video processing infrastructure.

Meta's aspiration to become "scrappier" draws inspiration from the term commonly associated with startups facing financial and resource constraints, requiring them to maximize the utilization of available assets. According to reports, Zuckerberg expressed his desire for Meta to foster a less bureaucratic environment, enabling faster work execution even with a reduced workforce.

“It just forces us to find ways to be scrappier and get things done more efficiently. It means that there are going to be fewer environments or projects where there are too many cooks in the kitchen, which is just a kind of common complaint that I hear over and over again across the whole company,” Zuckerberg said, according to the Post. 

During a recent earnings call, Zuckerberg hinted at the possibility of streamlining the organization by reducing layers of management, aiming to create a leaner structure and enhance the efficiency of day-to-day operations.