Instagram has cut 60 technical program manager positions, eliminating a layer of management at the company, according to a new report from The Information. The impacted employees have two months to apply for other jobs at the company. After the two-month period, their employment will be terminated if they are unable to secure a different role at the company.
In a LinkedIn post, a former Instagram employee noted that some technical program managers may be expected to “re-interview for PM roles” or project manager roles.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment on the job cuts. The spokesperson directed TechCrunch to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s March 2023 blog post about the company’s “Year of Efficiency” in which the executive said Meta would focus on improving its financial performance and reducing headcount.
The Information reports that Instagram has also notified employees about a reorganization of product teams, as it has decided to create three new focus areas for the team that is tasked with helping people create and share content on the social network. The three new focus areas are Creation, Creators and Friend Sharing.
The changes mean that Instagram is going to sharpen its focus on supporting creators who are most likely to drive teen engagement on the platform. It’s not a surprise that Instagram wants it employees to focus on creators who are able to retain teen audiences on the platform, but the change comes as more than 40 states are suing Meta, alleging that the company’s services are contributing to young users’ mental health problems.
The lawsuit alleges that over the past decade, Meta “profoundly altered the psychological and social realities of a generation of young Americans” and that it is using “powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens.”
Meta’s focus on teen engagement also comes as the company is scheduled to testify before the Senate on child safety on January 31, alongside X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Snap and Discord. Committee members are expected to press executives from the companies on their platforms’ inability to protect children online.
Despite the continued and ongoing regulatory pressure that Meta is facing, Instagram is still focused on teen engagement and retention.
However, it seems that Meta is looking to appease lawmakers with its recent changes regarding teen safety. Earlier this week, Meta revealed that it was going to start automatically limiting the type of content that teen Instagram and Facebook accounts can see on the social networks. As part of the changes, teen accounts will be restricted from seeing harmful content, such as posts about self-harm, graphic violence and eating disorders.
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