Grace Ashiru
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, plans to downsize its office space in Lagos following global layoffs in mid-2023 that impacted its Nigerian team. According to three individuals familiar with the situation, at least 35 employees were affected by these layoffs. The company’s engineering team, which had 24 members as reported in 2022, was among those laid off.
“Engineers continue to serve the region from a number of our global engineering hubs outside of Nigeria,” a Meta spokesperson stated in an email to TechCabal, without specifying the number of Nigerian employees affected by the 2023 layoffs that resulted in a global headcount reduction of 20,000.
This reduction in team size has led the social media giant to start renegotiating its lease agreement for office space in the 15-story Kings Tower building in Ikoyi, Lagos. A significant aspect of this renegotiation will involve decreasing its office space. According to a publication, Kings Tower has an asking price of $800 per square meter per annum.
“We routinely evaluate our office spaces to ensure they meet the business’s requirements, and our Nigeria office is no exception,” Meta stated. “As we reduce our real estate footprint, we are moving to a desk-sharing model for employees who primarily work outside the office.”
Despite Meta’s insistence that their recent actions do not signify a retreat, the move marks a significant shift for a company that has continually invested in Nigeria and emphasized its commitment to the West African nation.
In March 2024, Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, visited Nigeria and announced that the company would start offering monetization to creators in the third quarter of 2024. During his visit, he highlighted the global recognition Nigerian creators have achieved and their use of Meta’s platforms to build communities. According to Statista, there are approximately 43 million Facebook users in Nigeria.
However, assessing whether these numbers have resulted in significant revenue growth remains challenging. Meta’s financial reports group African revenue within the “Rest of World” category.
Meta isn’t the only major tech company implementing operational changes in Nigeria. In May 2024, Microsoft closed its African Development Centre, resulting in the loss of at least 100 engineering jobs. Although the company maintains that it continues to operate in Nigeria, it has chosen Kenya for a multi-billion dollar investment in data centers.
