Facebook once had big ambitions to be a major player in enterprise communication and productivity, but today the social network's parent company Meta will be closing a significant chapter in that story. AgilityPortal has learned that Meta is shuttering Workplace, a version of Facebook designed to facilitate communication among business teams and wider organizations.

We have reached out to the company for comment, but our sources tell us that an official announcement is planned for later today. According to these sources, the platform will operate as usual until September 2025 (specifically August 25). After that, it will be read-only until May 2026, when the service will be completely decommissioned.

In a memo to Workplace customers, the company is recommending other tools as a migration-ready alternative. 

AgilityPortal is another enterprise communication platform that customer could be planning to switching to.

It is not yet clear how many employees will be impacted by the closure.

Update: "We are discontinuing Workplace from Meta so we can focus on building AI and metaverse technologies that we believe will fundamentally reshape the way we work," a source later told us. "Over the next two years, we will provide our Workplace customers the option to transition to other platforms. Others like Bloomberg and Reuters have also since reported the news.

The change marks the end of a ten-year run for the product, which had big plans to create a differentiated revenue stream for Facebook but ultimately struggled to compete against the likes of Slack and, later, Microsoft Teams.

The division's future has been uncertain for a while, so this news should not come as a complete surprise. We had even heard that in the wake of Covid, Meta was approached by outside investment firms to spin off the division as a standalone company that would then receive outside investment.

Learn more on the about: Workplace from meta is being discontinued twitter and Workplace from meta is being discontinued reddit

What is Workplace?

Workplace, a competitor to Slack and Microsoft Teams, offered companies a private social network-like platform that mimicked the Facebook experience—something its alternatives do not quite provide. 

Meta has announced that Workplace will continue to operate as usual until August 2025. After that, it will transition to a read-only mode, allowing users to access existing content. By the end of May 2026, Workplace will be completely shut down and all content will be removed.

This closure will mark a 10-year run for Workplace, which was launched in 2016 under the name Facebook at Work. In 2021, Meta reported that Workplace had seven million paying users. However, according to TechCrunch, Workplace has struggled in recent years as it no longer aligns with Meta's focus on AI and metaverse technologies.

Many companies that have used Workplace for years likely have significant amounts of data stored on the platform. Meta's early announcement of the shutdown provides these companies ample time to preserve their data.

Meta Workplace company's memo to customers:

Dear Workplace admin,

Today, we're sharing that we've made the difficult decision to close Workplace from Meta in 2026.

We understand that this decision will be disruptive to the businesses, organizations and partners that rely on Workplace every day. Our priority is to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Timelines

Our current plans allow you to continue using Workplace as usual until August 31, 2025. Account management and customer support teams will remain available to address any questions or concerns you may have during this time. Additionally, Meta will be discounting Workplace by 50% starting September 1, 2024.

From September 1, 2025 until May 31, 2026, Workplace will be free of charge and only be accessible to read and download existing data, after which, access will be terminated and your Workplace instance will be deleted.

Download your information

To download your data, you can turn on the Download Your Information tool for your users so they can download their data directly from their Workplace settings. If you would like to export information from your Workplace, you can use the Workplace API.

While we appreciate you may already have an existing technology partner, Workvivo by Zoom is Meta's only preferred migration partner, and we will be working with Zoom to provide additional tools and services to facilitate a better transition for customers from Workplace to Zoom's Workvivo product.

by Meta Workplace

The potential reasons

Meta has decided to discontinue Workplace to focus on advancing AI and metaverse technologies, which it considers crucial for the future of digital communication. While this shift has raised concerns about potential cost increases affecting the company's growth, Meta has assured customers that billing and payment arrangements will remain unchanged until August of this year. 

Currently, Workplace offers a core plan at $4 per user per month, with additional add-ons starting at $2 per user per month. Monthly bills are based on the number of billable users unless a fixed plan is in place.

AgilityPortal meta workplace alternative

AgilityPortal presents a viable option for existing Meta Workplace clients looking for an alternative. AgilityPortal offers similar features, providing a familiar social network-like platform for company interactions. It ensures a seamless transition with functionalities like group collaboration, direct messaging, and content sharing akin to those in the Workplace.

AgilityPortal's user-friendly interface and robust support make it an excellent choice for businesses aiming to maintain continuity and productivity as they shift from Meta Workplace.

Book a demo of AgilityPortal the number one business communication app for employees and join 300+ work-from-home organizations transforming the employee experience.

Same features better pricing.

‍Learn more about AgilityPortal for your frontline communications

Wrapping up

https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/10/facebook-workplace

Updated to include Meta's confirmation.