Meta has withdrawn a slew of internship offers as it struggles to cut costs and salvage what’s left of its stock price. To throw salt on the wound, some of the rescinded offers had been made to candidates who were already working with the company. The current interns were supposed to continue their time with the company in the coming weeks.
“Meta interns are crucial in shaping our future,” Meta spokesperson Andrea Beasely said Gizmodo in an email, confirming the decision to reneg. “This difficult decision was not made lightly and was made as a last resort. This companywide hiring shift is to ensure that our hiring targets are aligned with our highest-priority efforts and business needs.”
In a gut-punch to hopeful interns at Meta, the company broke the news via email, according to New York Post. that the affected interns would have been based in the company’s new London office starting in January 2023.
“Sometimes life is not fair and unexpected things happen, no matter how much effort you put into it. I’m sorry to announce that I’m no longer an incoming intern at Meta UK in 2023,” would-be Facebook intern Yure Pablo wrote on LinkedIn. Pablo elaborated that he turned down other internships after being invited to return to Meta.
Meta has been facing financial turmoil for the better part of 2022, and hiring freezes have followed. The company’s user base declined for the first time in its history in February, and its stock has lost more than half its value since. In July, Meta reported its first revenue decline — a whopping 1% year-over-year decline in Q2 2022 — while simultaneously announcing a 36% loss in net income for Q2 year-over-year. Mark Zuckerberg previously announced that Meta would freeze hiring across the company and that departments should expect budget cuts.
Facebook’s parent company isn’t the only tech company to pull offers amid the broader economic downturn. Coinbase yanked offers that had already been accepted in early June.