Days after laying off 3,600 employees, tech giant Meta is set to offer bigger bonuses to its executives this year. According to a corporate filing, the social media giant has raised executive bonuses to 200 per cent of their base pay, more than double the previous year’s 75 per cent, reported CNBC.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not included in the new compensation system, the filing added. 

The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, defended the bonus, claiming that previous executive compensation was not keeping up with industry norms. To retain top talent, they had to keep the compensation competitive. 

Meta said, “Following this increase, the target total cash compensation for the named executive officers (other than the CEO) falls at approximately the 50th percentile of the Peer Group Target Cash Compensation.”

The new bonus plan came to light weeks after Meta announced plans to lay off over 3,600 employees around the world, based on their low performance ratings. 

The company confirmed to AFP that CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision would affect five per cent of its workforce.

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

The CEO said the performance-based cuts were meant to ensure the company had the “strongest talent” and “bring new people in.”

After last week’s layoffs, Meta employees went public with their criticism of the company’s leadership. Despite the company’s “performance-based layoffs” claims, employees alleged they were terminated despite meeting performance expectations.

Mark Zuckerberg has recently aligned more closely with conservative ideas and political figures, including having dinner meetings with Trump and nominating a Republican as Meta’s head of public affairs.

The company has also scaled back its diversity initiatives and relaxed content moderation rules on Facebook and Instagram, particularly regarding certain forms of hostile speech.