Next-generation Googles run a tighter ship

MARK ZUCKERBERG dubbed 2023 Meta’s “year of efficiency”, corporate-speak for admitting that his social-media empire was bloated. Since November Meta has cut 21,000 jobs, or about a quarter of its workforce. Bosses of its fellow tech titans have also embraced the efficiency mantra. Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft have collectively shed more than 50,000 jobs since October. Despite an uptick in ad sales, talk of “re-engineering the cost base” and the like still featured in big tech’s quarterly-earnings calls this week. The bloodletting (in plain English) is not limited to the giants. According to layoffs.fyi, a sackings-tracker, nearly 900 tech firms around the world have announced total job cuts of more than 220,000 in 2023.