Tech giant Meta has reportedly laid off nearly 8,000 employees as part of a major restructuring exercise focused on expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) operations.
According to reports, affected employees began receiving termination emails early on May 20, with many workers learning about the layoffs overnight through official company communication. The job cuts are said to impact nearly 10 percent of Meta’s workforce across multiple countries.
The layoffs reportedly began with employees in Singapore before extending to staff in the United States, the United Kingdom and other regions. Employees were informed through emails sent in the early hours of the morning, while the company had earlier directed several teams to work from home ahead of the restructuring process.
The company, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, is reportedly prioritising AI technology and preparing for large-scale investments in new AI-driven projects. Reports suggest Meta is planning projects worth between 125 billion and 145 billion dollars as part of its long-term AI expansion strategy.
Despite the layoffs, the company is also expected to recruit around 7,000 employees for AI-related roles. Internal restructuring plans reportedly include transferring existing staff into newly formed AI-focused teams to streamline operations and reduce managerial workload.
Meta’s human resources department has reportedly started preparing employees for the transition toward AI-based operations and advanced technology systems.
This is not the first major workforce reduction at Meta. The company had previously laid off thousands of employees during restructuring exercises carried out in 2022 and 2023 as part of cost-cutting and operational realignment measures.
