Meta informed employees on May 20 that they were being laid off as part of a "continued effort to run the company more efficiently," according to emails obtained by multiple news outlets.
The layoffs, which represent 10% of Meta's roughly 78,000-person workforce, began at 4 a.m. local time in Singapore before rolling out to other regions, including the United Kingdom and the United States.
Affected employees received notifications through both their work and personal email accounts. The job cuts impact multiple divisions across the company, including integrity teams responsible for removing harmful content and hate speech, as well as cybersecurity and content design departments, according to Business Insider.
In the email sent to terminated staff, Meta explained that roles had been eliminated "to allow us to offset the other investments we're making."
Chief People Officer Janelle Gale announced the restructuring in an internal memo sent to employees in late April, stating that the company would lay off around 10% of staff on May 20 while also closing approximately 6,000 open job positions.
The memo acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, noting it would mean "letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here," the Times of India reported.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg sought to ease employee anxiety by stating he does not anticipate any further company-wide layoffs for the remainder of 2026.
Employees who lost their jobs will receive 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for every year worked at the company as part of their severance package.
Meta will also cover COBRA health care coverage for affected U.S. employees and their families for 18 months, with similar but country-specific packages available for international workers. The company has committed to providing career services and immigration support for those who require it.
The layoffs coincide with Meta's significant pivot toward artificial intelligence, with the company announcing it would reassign 7,000 existing employees to new AI-focused initiatives just two days before the job cuts took effect.
Meta plans to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion on AI infrastructure this year. This represents the company's largest workforce reduction since its "year of efficiency" restructuring in 2022 and 2023, which eliminated over 20,000 positions, as per NDTV.
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