Meta Pares Back Presence In New York Location As Slowdown Weighs

Meta Platforms, Inc META scaled back its presence at a prime New York City location to reduce its costs to work through a slowing online ad market.

Meta subleased a “small portion” of its facilities at 50 Hudson Yards, one of New York’s most enormous commercial towers, CNBC reports.

Meta completed a lease with Hudson Yards in 2019 for more than 1.5 million square feet of office space, which included three Hudson Yards buildings.

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Reportedly, Meta reduced its footprint at Hudson Yards, resulting in the company giving back some office space at 30 and 55 Hudson Yards to the landlord Related Cos. Meta now leased over 250,000 square feet of space across two Hudson Yards towers.

“The past few years have brought new possibilities around the role of the office, and we are prioritizing making focused, balanced investments to support our most strategic long-term priorities and lead the way in creating the workplace of the future,” a Meta spokesperson told CNBC in an email. “Our aim is to build a best-in-class remote work experience to help everyone do the best work of their careers no matter where they are.”

The spokesperson said Meta is “firmly committed to New York City as evidenced by the recent opening of the Farley building and 50 Hudson Yards, which is estimated to open next year, further anchoring our local footprint.” 

In October, Meta issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for the fourth quarter, indicating that revenue would drop for the third straight period.

Meta said earlier this month that it was laying off over 11,000 workers, representing 13% of its workforce. 

Price Action: META shares traded higher by 1.98% at $120.44 on the last check Thursday.