Meta has decided to pull the plug on Workplace, the business communications platform that was designed to handle things like Slack, but that never really got off the ground.
Once seen as a major player in business communications and productivity, other services have piggybacked on the pandemic to rise to the top, leaving Workplace struggling to catch up.
Facebook’s parent company has now confirmed that the online collaboration and communication app will be phased out over the next two years, giving customers until May 2026 to find another suitable solution.
Workplace users are given two years to find an alternative
Initially launched as Facebook@Work before being rebranded as Workplace, the platform was designed to facilitate communication.
However, despite attracting some pretty big customers, including Spotify, Starbucks and Walmart, the platform has faced increasing challenges from more established rivals such as Teams.
TechCrunch’S report on the shutdown quotes an unnamed source, describing Meta’s future plans and the reason for discontinuing Workplace:
“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.”
As part of the closure, Meta has appointed one preferred partner: Workvivo, a similar product sold by Zoom. Meta has committed to helping customers migrate to Workvivo.
Customers have until August 31, 2025 to continue using the app. By then they will have to have found another alternative. Between September 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026, Workplace will only support reading and downloading existing information to facilitate migrations. During this time, the subscription fees will be cleared.
Workplace’s Core Plan costs $4 per user per month, with a small handful of add-ons available for an additional $2 per user per month. Workvivo, which has attracted clients including Amazon, RyanAir and Virgin, does not disclose prices.