San Francisco, Nov 9 (IANS): In one of the worst lay-offs ever in the tech industry, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday sacked more than 11,000 employees -- about 13 per cent of the global workforce.

In a statement, Zuckerberg said the company is also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending its hiring freeze through Q1.

"Today I'm sharing some of the most difficult changes we've made in Meta's history. I've decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13 per cent and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go," said Zuckerberg.

"I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone, and I'm especially sorry to those impacted," he added.

The Meta CEO said that everyone will get an email soon letting them know what this layoff means for them.

"After that, every affected employee will have the opportunity to speak with someone to get their questions answered and join information sessions," he said.