Meta resumes layoffs for ‘failure to meet expectations’

Meta✴ has launched a new round of performance-based layoffs after announcing the move in a memo last month. The aim is to improve the company’s efficiency and reallocate resources to priority areas, particularly artificial intelligence (AI).

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As reported by PCMag, citing Bloomberg, the U.S. employees affected by the layoffs were notified via email on February 10. To soften the blow of the layoffs, they were offered severance packages that included 16 weeks of pay plus two weeks for each year of service.

Meta✴ CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a memo that the layoffs were aimed at eliminating employees who “did not meet expectations during their last 12 months of employment.” This reportedly affected about 5% of Meta✴’s global workforce, or roughly 3,600 people.

However, employees in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands will not be affected by this round of layoffs due to local regulations. Employees in Asia, Africa and other parts of Europe will receive notice between February 11 and 18. Zuckerberg promised that the vacant positions will be filled as early as 2025.

It’s worth noting that Meta✴ has made efficiency-focused layoffs before. It laid off 10,000 employees in 2023 after Zuckerberg called it a “year of efficiency” for Meta✴. But the biggest layoff was the 2022 layoff of more than 11,000 employees due to over-hiring during the pandemic. The most recent known layoffs at Meta✴ occurred in October, when it cut an unspecified number of jobs from WhatsApp, Instagram✴, Reality Labs, and other units as part of a company-wide restructuring.

Meta✴’s latest round of layoffs comes as it seeks to keep pace with its AI competitors. The company is expected to invest about $65 billion in capital expenditures in 2025 and significantly expand its AI teams.