• Mark Zuckerberg is targeting Meta’s low performers. In an internal memo announcing staff cuts, the CEO told employees to prepare for an “intense year.”

Mark Zuckerberg is raising the bar for Meta employees, telling them to expect an “intense year” in an internal memo announcing a fresh round of cuts aimed at managing low performers.

In the message shared with Meta staff on Tuesday, Zuckerberg told employees he had “decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster.”

The company reportedly plans to exit roughly 5% of the lowest performers. Meta told Fortune it plans to backfill the roles.

Meta said U.S. employees impacted by the cuts would be notified by February 10 and promised “generous severance” in line with previous rounds of layoffs, per Bloomberg.

It’s the latest round of cuts in Zuckerberg’s self-proclaimed efficiency drive.

In 2023, the CEO declared a “year of efficiency” at Meta, announcing plans to eliminate 10,000 positions and flatten the company’s structure to remove some layers of middle management.

In 2022, the company laid off another 11,000 employees, or roughly 13% of its workforce.

The latest cuts differ from previous rounds of layoffs as they are motivated by performance rather than cost.

In a note to managers seen by Bloomberg, Zuckerberg said that the cuts were intended to make room to “bring new people in” and make sure the company was benefiting from the “strongest talent.”

Meta’s MAGA revamp

The squeeze on low performers is the latest in a series of recent changes at Meta.

Last week, Zuckerberg announced he was overhauling the platform’s content moderation, with plans to ditch fact-checking in favor of X-style community notes.

In a video posted to Instagram, the Meta CEO said content moderation had gone too far on the platform, and the company planned to get back to its roots by focusing on “restoring free expression.”

The Meta CEO struck a similar tone to Elon Musk during his overhaul of X, formerly known as Twitter. Musk has repeatedly said he purchased X to restore free speech to the platform.

Meta has also announced plans to end its major DEI programs.

In a memo obtained by Axios, the company said the changes were due to shifts in the “legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States.”

The recent changes appear to be an attempt by Zuckerberg to move Meta more ideologically in line with the incoming President Donald Trump.

Trump has previously taken issue with both Zuckerberg and Meta’s Facebook, calling the platform “anti-Trump” in 2017 and an “enemy of the people” in March.

Tensions between the Meta CEO and Trump peaked after the January 6 riots when Meta suspended the former president’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Since the U.S. election, Zuckerberg has sought to improve relations with the President-elect and has met with him twice in Mar-a-Lago.

The Meta CEO has also overseen a $1 million donation to a Trump inauguration fund, appointed a key supporter to Meta’s board, publicly praised the incoming president, and criticized the Biden administration.

In a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience”, Zuckerberg said he was “optimistic” about how Trump will impact American businesses.

He’s also expected to have a ringside seat to Trump’s inauguration alongside Musk and Jeff Bezos.