Mark Zuckerberg says laying off Meta staff was one of the hardest calls he's had to make in 18 years of running the company

• Mark Zuckerberg said laying off over 11,000 Meta staff was one of his hardest calls, per NBC News.
• He said in a call that employees had put their "heart and soul into this place," per the report.

Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said laying off Meta employees was one of the most difficult decisions he's had to make since he founded the company in 2004.

In a video call, a portion of which was obtained by NBC News, Zuckerberg addressed employees on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET after he sent out a memo to the company about the job cuts. In the memo, the Meta CEO said more than 11,000 workers would lose their jobs.

Just as he wrote in the memo, Zuckerberg said in the call that he took full responsibility for the decision to let staff go.

"I'm the founder and CEO, I'm responsible for the health of our company, for our direction, and for deciding how we execute that, including things like this," Zuckerberg said in the clip, which NBC News said was provided by a laid-off Meta employee.

"This was ultimately my call," Zuckerberg added. "It was one of the hardest calls that I've had to make in the 18 years of running the company."

Zuckerberg said the decision was hard not only because it impacted employees' lives, but also because the company was losing staff for the mission.

"You've really put your heart and soul into this place. Each of you is talented and passionate. Each of you has played a role in making Meta the success that it is. No matter what team you may have worked on, each of you played a role in contributing to the products that billions of people use to connect every day," he said during the call, per NBC News.

Zuckerberg hosted two calls on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the matter told the outlet. One call was for laid-off Meta employees and the other was for staff who were staying on at the company.

The layoffs impacted around 13% of Meta's workforce Meta. The company owns Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. The cuts came as Twitter and Salesforce also decided to reduce their workforce.

Zuckerberg's approach was a stark contrast to the way that Elon Musk's Twitter dealt with layoffs. Although Twitter expressed regret for the situation, workers who had been impacted were sent emails bluntly titled "Your Role at Twitter," which stated: "Today is your last working day at the company."