Mass layoffs at Facebook have left influencers and businesses with limited customer service, exposing them to scams and other issues.
CNBC reports that due to a number of cost-cutting initiatives by Facebook (now known as Meta) Instagram influencers and businesses are struggling to get the proper support for problems impacting their accounts. The two rounds of layoffs that Facebook implemented in late 2022, totaling about 21,000 job losses, significantly negatively impacted its customer service operations.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 01: in their welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC Apex on October 1, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Instagram influencer Katya Karlova, who resides in Los Angeles, has firsthand experience with this lack of assistance. Scammers who used her photos to make fake accounts targeted her account. Karlova expressed her annoyance in an interview, saying, “This is really damaging. This is my brand, and I work really hard to build it to be something impactful and positive.” She tried to report these fake accounts, but the Instagram support staff wasn’t very helpful.
MeLynda Rinker, a community manager for the Facebook page 50 Shades of Pink and a Meta-certified community manager, expressed a similar opinion. Rinker discovered problems with the group’s backend system, but she had a difficult time getting in touch with anyone for help. She said, “The day that all those people got fired, we felt it — those of us on Facebook felt it. You could tell that things weren’t getting fixed, you could tell that there were struggles because they fired all these people, so the people that remain are working with less to get the same stuff done.”
Marketing expert Amanda Holliday has observed the mounting resentment among her corporate clients who are having trouble getting help from Facebook. She said, “It’s pretty much impossible to get a hold of anyone. They walk you through steps you need to do for things, and then you’re just sort of left like holding your phone waiting, hoping that they got your request or issue, and then you don’t hear anything usually.”
Karlova remains concerned about the future of customer service on the platform, stating, “I don’t know that they have the bandwidth or the people to do this. I just don’t see the implementation of it. I just don’t get how it would happen.”
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan