Meta has started sending layoff emails to around 10 percent of its 78,000 employees, informing them that their roles have been eliminated.
According to a memo sent by Meta HR chief Janelle Gale, the notifications were sent in three waves at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
Previous reports claimed that Meta’s workforce reductions and internal transfers could eventually affect nearly 20 percent of employees by the end of the year.
The company also plans to move around 7,000 employees to AI-related initiatives and cut several managerial roles.
“As org leaders worked on the changes, many of them incorporated AI-native design principles into their new org structures. We’re now at a stage where many orgs can operate with a flatter structure, with smaller teams of pods or cohorts that can move faster and with more ownership,” Gale said.
The layoffs are expected to impact around 8,000 roles. Meta will offer affected employees in the United States a severance package that includes 16 weeks of base pay, along with two additional weeks for every year of continuous employment.
They will also receive 18 months of healthcare coverage for themselves and their families, which is three times the previous amount, according to Business Insider. Employees in other countries will receive similar packages, depending on local rules.
Several other tech companies have also carried out layoffs recently, with AI often being cited as one of the factors behind restructuring.
Fintech company Block recently offered laid-off employees 20 weeks of salary, plus one additional week for every year of service and six months of healthcare coverage. Amazon gave affected employees three months of full pay and healthcare benefits, along with an additional severance package.
At an internal meeting last month, Gale reportedly said employee morale had taken a hit due to the looming layoffs. She said the company was trying to make a “shitty” situation “the best version possible,” adding that COBRA coverage had been tripled.
Meta employees have been in a state of uncertainty since the layoffs were first announced on April 23. At the time, Meta said in an internal memo that the job cuts would help the company operate more efficiently and offset investments.
The company is spending billions in the AI race. In April, Meta forecast its 2026 capital expenditure to be between $125 billion and $145 billion.
Meta leaders have also not ruled out the possibility of further layoffs beyond the current 10 percent workforce reduction.
