Meta is set to lay off approximately 8,000 employees on Wednesday, May 20, and has instructed its North American staff to work from home that day as the cuts are implemented. According to an internal memo from HR chief Janelle Gale, first reported by Reuters, the layoff notifications will be sent via email at 4 AM local time across three regional waves. Meanwhile, around 7,000 employees who retain their positions will be reassigned to four new organizations focused on artificial intelligence.
Scope of the Layoffs
The layoffs represent about 10% of Meta's total workforce, which was roughly 78,000 at the end of 2025. In addition to the job cuts, the company is also canceling 6,000 open roles that were actively being recruited for. This move is part of a broader restructuring aimed at creating flatter teams, reducing management layers, and adopting AI-native organizational structures.
Internal Memo Details
In the memo, Gale explained that many teams can now operate with smaller pods and fewer layers of management. "We're now at the stage where many orgs can operate with a flatter structure," she wrote, framing the changes as a productivity-enhancing strategy rather than mere cost-cutting. The four new organizations that will absorb the 7,000 reassigned workers are designed around AI-native principles, with significantly fewer managers per employee.
Severance and Support
Laid-off employees in the United States will receive 16 weeks of base pay as severance, plus an additional two weeks for every year of service at Meta. They will also be provided with healthcare and career support. For employees outside the US, similar packages will be offered according to country-specific timelines.
Financial Context
The layoffs are part of a larger shift in spending. Meta has projected capital expenditure for 2026 to be between $125 billion and $145 billion, with the majority allocated to AI data centers, custom silicon, and model training. During the latest earnings call, CFO Susan Li expressed uncertainty about Meta's ideal headcount in an environment where AI continues to evolve rapidly.
Employee Sentiment
Morale within the company has declined significantly. Anonymous ratings on Blind indicate that Meta's overall employee score has dropped 25% from its 2024 peak, with the culture rating falling by 39%. Additionally, a new internal tool called the Model Capability Initiative, which logs keystrokes and mouse movements to train AI agents, sparked an employee petition last month urging CEO Mark Zuckerberg to shut it down. Zuckerberg has since assured staff that the data is not used for surveillance but solely to teach AI how people work on computers.
Future Layoffs
This round of layoffs is not expected to be the last. Meta leaders have informed staff that another wave is possible in August, with further cuts later in the year. During a recent Q&A session, Zuckerberg described AI as "one of the most competitive fields, probably in history," emphasizing that Meta is restructuring itself around this bet, one 4 AM email at a time.
