US media reports said tech giant Meta plans to lay off 3,500 employees. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said underperformers will be fired to make space for new hires.

Tech giant Meta announced plans to lay off about 3,600 employees based on their performance, US media reported on Tuesday.

This will affect 5% of the company’s 72,000-strong workforce, said the company to AFP news agency.

“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.

Recent changes at Meta

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp wants to ensure they have the “strongest talent” and “bring new people in,” said Zuckerberg.

According to the plan, employees who underperform will be asked to leave sooner, and will be replaced by new hires, reported Bloomberg and tech blog The Verge.

Zuckerberg, 40, is the third richest person in the world. He has recently aligned closer to US president-elect Donald Trump.

Recently, Meta announced the shutdown of its US fact-checking program and scaled back its diversity and inclusion initiatives. It also made its content moderation rules more lenient.