Meta is planning another major round of job cuts in an effort to boost efficiency and balance out its big investments in AI. The company will lay off around 10 per cent of its workforce, which translates to roughly 8,000 employees. According to an internal memo sent to employees on Thursday, the layoffs are scheduled to take place on May 20. Alongside the job cuts, Meta has also decided not to fill about 6,000 open positions.
In the memo, reviewed by Bloomberg, Chief People Officer Janelle Gale explained the reason behind the decision. ‘We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,’ she wrote.
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The announcement hasn’t come as a complete surprise. Many employees have been worried about job cuts for months, especially after layoffs already affected teams like Reality Labs earlier this year.
In the memo, Gale also clarified that the company chose to confirm the news of the latest round of layoffs early as details of the plan were leaked. ‘Normally, we would want to nail down more details before communicating about this broadly, but since this has leaked, I want to share what I can right now,’ she wrote. ‘I know this is unwelcome news and confirming this puts everyone in an uneasy state, but we feel this is the best path forward, given the circumstances.’
The move comes at a time when CEO Mark Zuckerberg is investing heavily in AI. Meta has been pouring money into building advanced AI tools. The company has also signed several multi-billion-dollar deals with AI partners in recent months.
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Below is the full memo by Janelle Gale:
Over the last few weeks we have been working on some changes to our organization that will result in us laying off around 10% of the company on May 20, and closing about 6,000 open roles. Normally, we would want to nail down more details before communicating about this broadly, but since this has leaked, I want to share what I can right now. I know this is unwelcome news and confirming this puts everyone in an uneasy state, but we feel this is the best path forward, given the circumstances. We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making. This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here.We will support those who are laid off with a generous severance package which, in the US, will include 16 weeks base pay plus two weeks for every year of employment. We will also cover the cost of COBRA health care coverage for US employees and their families for 18 months. Packages outside the US will be similar but vary by country, as will local timelines and processes. We will also offer career services to support people in finding another role, and immigration support for those who need it. We’ll share more of these details in a follow up post ahead of May 20. For notifications, we will follow the same process we have before: on May 20, anyone who is impacted will receive an email to their work and personal accounts – please make sure your personal email is updated in Workday. I know this leaves everyone with nearly a month of ambiguity which is incredibly unsettling. We will try to answer your questions here in the comments but as we’re still working through the details we aren’t able to share much more until later in May. Meanwhile, you can find more information on the People Portal which includes our standard FAQs and logistical details for layoffs.