Jan 14 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ) will trim

about 5% of its "lowest performers" and plans to hire for the

impacted roles this year, a company spokesperson said on

Tuesday.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also warned employees about more

such job cuts this year to "raise the bar" on performance

management, the spokesperson said.

The Facebook parent had a total workforce of more than

72,000 as of Sept. 30.

Many tech companies, including Cisco ( CSCO ) and IBM ( IBM )

, have been looking to redirect investments into

artificial intelligence technology. Meta has also poured

billions into AI-related infrastructure, with its expenses

expected to grow this year.

The social media company initiated several restructuring

changes in 2022, resulting in around 11,000 job cuts.

Zuckerberg had also called 2023 the "Year of Efficiency" as

Meta announced its decision to eliminate around 10,000 roles.

Last week, the company scrapped its U.S. fact-checking

program and reduced curbs on discussions around contentious

topics such as immigration and gender identity, bowing to

conservative pushback ahead of Republican Donald Trump's return

to the U.S. presidency.

Meta's layoffs were first reported by Bloomberg News earlier

on Tuesday.