Meta Initiates Large-Scale Layoffs to Pivot Towards AI Talent Acquisition

Meta Starts Eliminating Jobs in Shift to Find AI Talent

The latest wave of firings are expected to be completed by February end Meta Platforms began notifying staff of job cuts on Monday, kick-starting a process that will terminate thousands of people as the company cracks down on "low-performers" and scours for new talent to dominate the AI race. Meta workers who were let go were notified via email, and the company is offering US-based employees severance packages that include 16 weeks of salary, in addition two weeks for each year of service, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the details weren't public. Employees whose review merited a bonus will still get one, and staff will still receive stock awards as part of the upcoming vesting cycle later this month, the people said. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg told employees that Meta would cut five percent of its workforce -- as many 3,600 people -- with a focus on staff who "aren't meeting expectations," Bloomberg News first reported in mid-January. Affected US-based employees would be notified on February 10, while international employees could learn later, Zuckerberg said last month. In a separate message to managers, the Facebook co-founder said the cuts would create headcount for the company to hire the "strongest talent." Job cuts have been consistent at Meta in recent years. The company laid off thousands of employees in 2022 and 2023 as part of an efficiency push. The latest wave of firings are expected to be completed by the end of the performance cycle that goes through February. They come as Meta seeks to beat out competitors including OpenAI and DeepSeek in a fast-moving artificial intelligence race. Zuckerberg told investors in late January that Meta anticipates eventually spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure. The Menlo Park, California-based company is applying AI across its range of apps and business units, from social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to virtual reality glasses. © 2025 Bloomberg LP

Meta layoffs: Thousands lose jobs as Mark Zuckerberg-led platform bets big on AI talent

Laid-off US employees will get 16 weeks' salary plus two weeks per year of service. After announcing plans to lay off several low-performing plans, Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta began laying off thousands of employees on Monday, the Bloomberg report stated. According to reports, the company has sent emails to both personal and professional email addresses of affected employees informing them about the severance packages and that they will be unable to access Meta systems after one hour of notifying. Previously, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted that approximately 5% of the Meta workforce, or 3,600 employees, would be affected, and the majority of them were not performing up to the company's expectations. With this, the company hopes to make more space for hiring top AI talent. According to reports, the company has been restructuring teams with a strong focus on AI in order to increase investment in artificial intelligence. Also read: Doctor loses Rs 1.8cr in stock investment scam: How to avoid falling for such frauds Employees who are laid off in the United States will receive severance packages that include 16 weeks of salary, plus an additional two weeks for each year of service. Those who received bonuses during the current review period, as well as stock awards, will receive them within the month. This is not the first time the company has fired thousands of workers. Previously, the social media giant laid off thousands of employees in 2022 and 2023 as part of a productivity push. This time, the parent company of Facebook appears to be moving strategically, with a particular emphasis on AI growth. The company is firing the less essential roles and will prioritise AI engineers and researchers to do the job, the report stated. Previously, Meta announced that it would be investing over $65 billion in AI development which is over 50% more budget compared to last year. For the unversed, the company spent $38-$40 billion on AI in 2024, a Reuters report stated.

Meta begins slashing thousands from its workforce

Meta's lay off warning becomes reality as employees wake up to job cutting notice. Credit: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images Meta is joining other tech industry giants slimming down their workforces, as it begins a massive round of job cuts that reflect a priority shift towards AI. In an internal memo sent to employees today (Feb. 10), Meta announced it would begin notifying "low performing" employees singled out for lay offs based on manager reviews and attrition rates of the previous year. The layoffs will affect almost 4,000 Meta workers across the United States, Europe, and Asia -- U.S. employees are expected to be hit first. In January, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company was planning to lay off more than 5 percent of its workforce based on an anticipated "intense year" for the tech giant, according to a leaked Workplace memo. The leader previously explained that Meta is doubling down on its "year of efficiency" and has been reorganizing the company's divisions to free up resources for its AI and AGI push. According to other internal documents, Meta is fast-tracking hiring for machine learning engineers and recently transferred some of the company's leadership to its generative AI group. "Mark is creating fear. He's creating a culture where you have to be loyal to him or else," an anonymous Meta worker told Business Insider. "Self-censorship is rampant. At a company supposedly dedicated to connecting people, the human side of our work is disappearing, and everyone is acting more robotic."

Meta layoffs have begun: Facebook parent firm to start firing thousands of employees based on performance. Check details

Meta layoffs: Facebook parent firm Meta has announced layoffs based on performance of its employees. Mark Zuckerberg's company is starting to fire around 4,000 employees as part of its strategic shift toward AI and efficiency. Mark Zuckerberg is targeting low performers, part of a broader industry move toward leaner operations.Facebook parent company Meta has begun to cut thousands of jobs as the tech giant takes a tougher stance on underperforming employees and readies its finances for another year of heavy AI investment. Meta is set to begin company-wide layoffs on Tuesday across multiple countries as part of its push to expedite hiring for machine learning engineers, according to internal memos sent to employees on Friday, Reuters reported. Meta is expected to carry out "performance terminations" this week, which will roughly cut 5% of its staff and replace them with machine learning engineers, according to the tech company and multiple reports. ALSO READ: Is 2025 a year of layoffs? Why Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and other US tech giants have cut jobs? Explained Meta is cutting thousands of jobs: 10 points you need to know -Meta is slashing around 4,000 jobs, affecting about 5 percent of its workforce. Employees were informed through an internal memo on Friday, according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider. -Affected employees in Europe, Asia, and the US have started to be notified. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staff in January he would "raise the bar" and move quickly to remove low performers, according to an internal memo. -Notices regarding the layoffs, which were announced in mid-January, were set to go out to underperforming employees in the U.S. and other countries on Monday morning, Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton told USA Today. ALSO READ: Kanye West sparks fresh controversy: Rapper under fire from netizens for selling swastika T-shirts after Super Bowl ad -Janelle Gale, Meta's VP of Human Resources, posted the memo on the company's internal Workplace forum. It said employees losing their jobs would get an email on Monday morning. -Employees in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands will not be included in the staffing cuts "due to local regulations," while those in more than a dozen other countries across Europe, Asia and Africa will receive the termination notifications between February 11-18, according to the memo, Reuters reported. -The job cuts were originally announced by Meta in January. Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a note posted to an internal message board, "I've decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster," Bloomberg reported at the time, citing an internal memo sent to employees. ALSO READ: When is total lunar eclipse 2025? Check dates, timings and where to catch 'Blood Moon' eclipse -"We typically manage out people who aren't meeting expectations over the course of a year," Zuckerberg said, per the outlet. "But now we're going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle." Similar to past cuts, Zuckerberg also said that the laid-off employees would receive a "generous severance," according to Bloomberg. -Meta is offering impacted workers in the US a severance package that includes 16 weeks of pay and an additional two weeks for every year of service, according to two people familiar with the matter, reports Business Insider. ALSO READ: 'A lot more business for America': Trump halts enforcement of US law banning bribery of foreign officials -The job cuts are designed to target employees who receive "met some" or "did not meet" ratings, the bottom two categories in Meta's assessment system, in their performance reviews.Internal guidance obtained by Business Insider last month says managers must identify 12% to 15% of employees eligible for these ratings. Meta aims to reach 10% "nonregrettable attrition" by combining these cuts with previous departures. -This is part of a broader push by Big Tech companies to make themselves leaner after a hiring spree during the pandemic. Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, and others are collectively eliminating thousands of employees. (With inputs from agencies)

Meta Starts Eliminating Jobs in Shift to Find AI Talent

Meta Platforms Inc. began notifying staff of job cuts on Monday, kick-starting a process that will terminate thousands of people as the company cracks down on "low-performers" and scours for new talent to dominate the AI race. Meta workers who were let go were notified via email, and the company is offering US-based employees severance packages that include 16 weeks of salary, in addition two weeks for each year of service, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the details weren't public. Employees whose review merited a bonus will still get one, and staff will still receive stock awards as part of the upcoming vesting cycle later this month, the people said.

Meta Workforce Reductions Expected to Continue Through February | PYMNTS.com

Meta began notifying employees affected by its previously announced job cuts on Monday (Feb. 10). The company's emails notifying those who were being let go marked the beginning of a process that is expected to continue through the end of Meta's performance cycle that goes to the end of February and result in terminations of as many as 3,600 employees, Bloomberg reported Monday. While U.S. staffers are being notified Monday, international employees could learn later, according to the report. With this headcount reduction, Meta aims to lay off "low performers" before adding new talent that will aid the company's competitiveness in the artificial intelligence market, the report said. It was reported in January that Meta planned to cut about 5% of its workforce and that the employees affected by the cuts would be notified Feb. 10. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote at the time in an internal message, per a CNBC report: "Meta is working on building some of the most important technologies of the world. AI, glasses as the next computing platform and the future of social media. This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams." It was reported Friday (Feb. 7) that AI investments by the four biggest tech firms -- Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft -- jumped 63% last year and will jump again in 2025 to reach a combined capital expenditure that could surpass $320 billion. Executives at these companies are pledging to up their investments in AI, pushing aside worries about the massive amounts they're spending on the technology. This year will also be a decisive one for Meta's metaverse efforts. It was reported Feb. 3 that Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth told employees in Reality Labs -- the home of Meta's metaverse and wearables products -- that "this year likely determines whether this entire effort will go down as the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure." During Meta's latest earnings call, Zuckerberg told analysts that while the number of users of the company's Quest and Horizon offerings has been growing, "we're going to know a lot more about Horizon's trajectory by the end of this year."

Meta's plan to erase 5% of workforce starts today

'Intense year' ahead, warned Zuck. Got to spend billions on AI and work to stay out of Trump's bad books Meta has confirmed to The Register that today marks the start of a mass redundancy process with thousands of workers getting the chop. Word of looming job cuts emerged last month when CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in a leaked memo that he intended to "move out low-performers faster" and "raise the bar on performance management." Some 5 percent of the workforce is being erased, equating to roughly 3,700 jobs. The business employs 74,067 people, according to an annual report for calendar 2024 [PDF] which Meta filed recently. In January, Zuckerberg described 2025 as an "intense year" for Meta, which involves massive AI investments that include hiring more machine learning engineers. Notices were dispatched to staff this morning. "These are performance terminations which were already announced in mid-January," a spokesperson told us. Asked about staff being notified this morning, the representative replied that was "accurate. They start today." The highly profitable social media biz declined to make further comment. Meta is planning to spend $60 billion on AI development in 2025, and after sinking billions into virtual reality despite a so far questionable outcome, the company will also focus on smart glasses. Confirmation of the personnel purge comes weeks after Meta confirmed it was expunging fact checking to prioritize free speech as Donald Trump returned to the White House as President. Zuckerberg said: This had nothing to do with any concerns that Zuck might have had about Trump's return to political power or the comment Donald previously made. In his book called Save America, published in September, Trump accused Zuckerberg of being nice to his face but plotting behind his back. "He told me there was nobody like Trump on Facebook. But at the same time, and for whatever reason, steered it against me," he wrote. "We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison -- as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election." A few months earlier in July, still smarting from his election defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump said of the Meta CEO: "All I can say is that if I'm elected President, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never before seen, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time," he wrote on Truth Social. "We already know who you are. DON'T DO IT ZUCKERBERGS". Similarly, Meta's decision to scale back diversity, equity and inclusion programmes had nothing to do with cosying up to Donald Trump, following his decision last month to nuke 60 years of anti-discrimination regulations. Meta reported $62.36 billion in net profit in 2024 [PDF] up 59 percent year-on-year, on the back of a 22 percent rise in revenue to $164.5 billion. No doubt investors will cheer today's confirmation of job cuts, just as they did when Zuckerberg last swung the axe in the years following the pandemic. In late 2022, Meta tossed 11,000 people on the employment bonfire and then another 10,000 joined them the following year. Meta claimed it hired too fast in the Covid 19 crisis and said business reality no longer matched costs. The latest cull pertains only to staff that have worked at Meta long enough to qualify for a performance review. ®

Meta Cuts 3,000 Jobs While Expanding AI Hiring for Future Growth

Meta Layoffs Reshape Workforce as AI Talent Becomes the New Focus, Impacting WhatsApp & Instagram Teams Meta Platforms, Inc. parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has initiated cutting its jobs based on its layoffs strategy. As per the report 3,000 staff members which is about 5% of the firm's employees are targeted in this exercise. "Performance terminations" are said to target the weakest links of the workforce. Although it lays off employees, Meta Platforms continues and machine learning engineers in large numbers for the acceleration of its artificial intelligence endeavors.