脸书母公司史无前例大裁员，只因元宇宙太烧钱？

2022.11.10
覃晔
难度：CSE9
课程导读

本周三，美国科技巨头Facebook母公司宣布开始裁员计划。据知情人士透露，这将是该公司成立18年来规模最大的一次，也是今年大厂裁员潮中波及人数最多的一次。Meta此次裁员的主要原因是什么？该公司面临着怎样的困境？一起来听今天的讲解。

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本篇课程首发于2022年11月10日

英文原文

Facebook Parent Meta Is Preparing to Notify Employees of Large-Scale Layoffs This Week

By Jeff Horwitz and Salvador Rodriguez

Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The planned layoffs would be the first broad head-count reductions to occur in the company’s 18-year history. While smaller on a percentage basis than the cuts at Twitter Inc. this past week, the number could be the largest to date at a major technology corporation in a year that has seen a tech-industry retrenchment.

“Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn’t be here,” Mr. Zuckerberg told employees at a companywide meeting at the end of June.

Meta’s stock has fallen more than 70% this year. The company has highlighted deteriorating macroeconomic trends, but investors have also been spooked by its spending and threats to the company’s core social-media business.

Much of Meta’s ballooning costs stem from Mr. Zuckerberg’s commitment to Reality Labs, a division of the company responsible for virtual- and augmented-reality headsets as well as the creation of the metaverse. The effort has cost the company $15 billion, but users have been largely unimpressed.

生词好句

1.notify somebody of something

通知某人某事

2.large-scale

英 [ˌlɑːdʒˈskeɪl] 美 [ˌlɑːrdʒˈskeɪl]
adj. 大规模的

3.layoff

英 [ˈleɪɒf] 美 [ˈleɪɑːf]
n. 裁员
拓展:
词义辨析：lay off vs. fire
lay off含义比较中性，基本不影响员工找下家，有可能是公司不景气裁员，部门解散等等之类的原因；fire一般是个人问题，找下家会比较困难。

4.according to people familiar with the matter

据知情人士透露
拓展:
familiar with the matter 熟知事件情况
Something is going to happen, according to people familiar with the matter.
据知情人士透露，某事要发生了。

5.on a … basis

以……为基础，为单位
拓展:
You pay the rent on a weekly basis.
你每周交次房租.
She works there on a voluntary basis.
她自愿在那里无偿工作。

6.to date

迄今为止
拓展:
This is perhaps his best novel to date.
这也许是他迄今最好的小说。

7.retrenchment

英 [rɪˈtrentʃmənt] 美 [rɪˈtrentʃmənt]
n. 收缩（reduction）
拓展:
retrenchment in expenditure 精简开支，紧缩花费
retrenchment strategy 收缩战略

8.a bunch of something

一堆……，一群……

9.companywide

英 [ˈkʌmpəni, waɪd] 美 [ˈkʌmpəni, waɪd]
adj. 全公司的
拓展:
-wide 表示”全……级别”
nationwide 全国性的
nationwide census 全国人口普查

10.deteriorate

英 [dɪˈtɪəriəreɪt] 美 [dɪˈtɪriəreɪt]
v. 恶化（become worse in some way）
拓展:
There are fears that the situation might deteriorate into full-scale war.
人们担心局势会恶化为全面战争。
Standards of living were deteriorating rather noticeably.
生活水平相当明显地下降了。

11.be spooked by

被……吓到，刺激到
拓展:
spook
UK /spuːk/ US /spuːk/
v. 使某人惊慌，惊吓
Don’t let that reality spook you.
不要让现实吓唬住你。

12.balloon

英 [bəˈluːn] 美 [bəˈluːn]
（本文）v. 激增，膨胀；n. 气球

13.stem from something

来源于某物
拓展:
All my problems stem from lack of sleep.
我所有的问题都是睡眠不足引起的。

14.virtual reality

虚拟现实（简称：VR）

15.augmented reality

增强现实（简称：AR）

16.unimpressed

英 [ˌʌnɪmˈprest] 美 [ˌʌnɪmˈprest]
adj. 不为所动，不感兴趣、不觉得好
拓展:
be unimpressed by fame and money 淡泊名利
The judge was unimpressed.
法官不为所动。
The markets were unimpressed.
市场无动于衷。