Executives at Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Google parent Alphabet are feeling the pressure, so they’re giving employees a kick in the pants. After years of rapid hiring, productivity at the tech giants is suffering, as revenue and free cash flow per employee decline.

The reason for falling productivity: Both companies have continued to add employees this year as revenue growth has slowed at Alphabet and reversed at Meta. Alphabet added more than 17,000 employees in the first six months of this year, and Facebook more than 11,000.