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Meta to Lay Off 10 Percent of Global Workforce on Wednesday
Meta told North American employees to work from home Wednesday while it conducts layoffs affecting 10 percent of its global staff. The cuts form part of a broader reorganization that includes new roles for about 7,000 employees and reduced managerial positions.
May 18, 4:40 PM·1m read1 source
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Meta has directed its North American employees to work remotely on Wednesday as the company prepares to reduce its global workforce by 10 percent. m. local time in their region. Human resources chief Janelle Gale stated in an internal document that executives will announce organizational changes alongside the layoffs.
About 7,000 employees are expected to move into new roles at the company. Gale said the changes incorporate AI-native design principles and aim to create flatter structures with smaller teams.
Meta had nearly 79,000 employees at the start of the year. Laid-off workers will receive severance packages that include at least 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for each year of service, along with healthcare and career support benefits.
The company previously announced plans to reach capital expenditures as high as $145 billion this year, driven in part by investments in AI data centers. In a memo last month, Gale said the cuts were intended to run the company more efficiently.
Meta conducted more than 20,000 job cuts in 2022 and 2023 as part of earlier efficiency efforts. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment and expects to conduct additional layoffs in the second half of the year. The first three months of 2026 recorded 52,050 tech layoffs, a 40 percent increase from the same period last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
AI was cited as the reason for 15,341 of those cuts in March.
