Meta Rubbishes Reports of CEO Zuckerberg's Exit In Early 2023 The clarification came from Meta spokesperson Andy Stone in response to a user's tweet carrying a report by news website The Leak about Zuckerberg's departure due to investors' frustrations with his money-losing metaverse project

By Soumya Duggal

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) has rubbished a recent rumour claiming that its co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be stepping down next year.

The clarification came from Meta spokesperson Andy Stone in response to a user's tweet carrying a report by news website The Leak about Zuckerberg's departure from the company in 2023 due to investors' frustrations with his plans to double down on investment in the money-losing metaverse project being worked upon by Reality Labs. Stone replied to the user, "This is false."

Interestingly, The Leak's report temporaily caused Meta's shares to rise by 1 per cent. The company has had rough going in the recent past: Reality Labs lost $3.7 billion in Q3 2022; Meta's revenue fell in the last two quarters; 13 per cent of its global workforce, i.e. roughly 11,000 employees, has been laid off.

Continued operation at losses, especially in unchanged macroeconomic conditions, could likely produce more firings, adding to the grim atmosphere that currently pervades the tech industry.

"A lot of people might disagree with this investment. But from what I can tell, I think that this is going to be a very important thing, and I think it would be a mistake for us to not focus on any of these areas, which I think are going to be fundamentally important to the future," Zuckerberg had recently said while defending his metaverse project before investors.

Soumya Duggal

Former Feature Writer

Leadership

What Makes You a Unicorn in Your Industry? Start by Mastering These 4 Pillars

We all want to achieve elusive unicorn status. But how do you attain such a lofty goal among stiff competition, all vying for the same thing?

Growing a Business

7 AI Tools That Help You Build a One-Person Business — and Make Money While You Sleep

Who needs a team? These seven AI tools let you automate everything, scale like a beast and reclaim your time.

Money & Finance

5 Money Habits That Separate Successful Entrepreneurs From Struggling Ones

Learn how successful entrepreneurs manage cash flow, invest wisely and build long-term financial stability.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Franchise

I Thought I Knew Finance — Then I Took Over My Family's Franchise. Here Are The Hard Truths I Learned.

Even with an MBA in finance, I wasn't ready for the messy reality of small-business money management — until I learned these hard truths.

Business News

Here's How Much a Typical Google Employee Makes in a Year

Compensation for the median Google employee was up 5% in 2024 compared to 2023, according to a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.