Meta to Lay Off 5% of Workforce While Accelerating AI Hiring

The performance-based layoffs, affecting roughly 3,600 employees, will begin Monday, with exemptions in some European countries due to local labor laws.

Meta will begin notifying employees of performance-based layoffs starting Monday, February 10, with approximately 5% of the workforce, or 3,600 employees, impacted.
Workers in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands are exempt from layoffs due to local labor regulations, while notifications in other countries will occur through February 18.
Impacted employees will lose access to company systems within an hour of notification and will receive severance details, bonuses, and vesting stock as applicable.
The company is expediting hiring for machine learning engineers and other critical roles, with recruitment efforts running from February 11 to March 13.
The layoffs follow Meta's broader strategic shift, including a focus on artificial intelligence, while phasing out DEI programs and adapting hiring practices.