Meta Platforms Inc. is alerting thousands of employees that they are being laid off as part of a previously announced restructuring aimed at reducing costs while the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence. The company began notifying workers around the world on Wednesday morning, starting with employees across Asia, who received the notice at 4 a.m. Singapore time. United States-based staff are also expected to receive word during their morning, according to an internal memo.
Details of the Layoffs
This latest round of cuts is expected to hit Meta's engineering and product teams in particular, and additional layoffs could come later in the year, according to people familiar with the company's plans. In Ireland, the company cut around 350 jobs, an estimated one-fifth of its workforce there, according to a person familiar with the matter. A Meta representative declined to comment on specific cuts but confirmed that the company has notified affected employees and the Irish government.
Staff are being encouraged to work from home while the company reduces roughly 8,000 roles globally. The company had just under 80,000 employees at the end of March, ahead of the reassignments and layoffs.
Reassignments and AI Focus
On Monday, Meta informed staff that some 7,000 workers have been reassigned to newly formed teams focused on AI initiatives, including products and agents. The company has committed well in excess of US$100 billion to AI capital expenditures this year. Meta's head of people, Janelle Gale, said in a memo that many organizations can now operate with a flatter structure using smaller teams that can move faster and with more ownership. She believes this will make the company more productive and the work more rewarding.
Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has made AI the company's top priority, committing all resources to keep pace with rivals like Alphabet Inc.'s Google and OpenAI. This has led to changes in Meta's workforce and operations. The company has gone through waves of layoffs in recent years as Zuckerberg pushes for increased efficiency. He has encouraged engineers to use AI agents for coding and other tasks, outlined plans to track employees' devices to improve technology, and spent time coding his own AI-powered assistant to handle some CEO duties.
Concerns and Expert Opinions
Meta's aggressive spending on AI has caused concern among investors, who worry that the investment may not ultimately pay off. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Oxford, commented that automators like Meta risk no longer being an employer of choice as they cut out humans when opportunities arise. He noted that this might lead to short-term cost savings but risks long-term growth potential by undermining employee wellbeing and engagement.
