Meta Prepares for 8,000 Layoffs, Biggest Cut in Years
The cuts are part of a broader downsizing plan expected to eliminate around 22,000 positions by the end of the year. The move would mark Meta’s largest workforce reduction since 2023, when the company cut about 21,000 jobs during what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called its “year of efficiency.”
Meta is expected to begin a major round of layoffs Wednesday, with about 8,000 employees worldwide set to be notified that they are losing their jobs, according to reports.
The cuts are part of a broader downsizing plan expected to eliminate around 22,000 positions by the end of the year. The move would mark Meta’s largest workforce reduction since 2023, when the company cut about 21,000 jobs during what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called its “year of efficiency.”
Inside Meta, the new layoff round has reportedly been given the internal codename “Pralaydin,” meaning “day of catastrophe” in Hindi.
The mood inside the company has been tense in recent weeks, as employees waited for formal notices. Some workers have reportedly begun taking home free office snacks, drinks and phone chargers in anticipation of being locked out of company buildings after the cuts.
Others have tried to demonstrate their value by increasing their use of Meta’s internal artificial intelligence tools, though human resources officials have told employees that AI usage will not be used to determine who is laid off.
Some employees have also disabled meeting transcription systems in order to discuss the expected layoffs privately without conversations being automatically recorded.
The layoff process is expected to move quickly. Employees losing their jobs are reportedly set to receive an email at 7 a.m., after which their access to work accounts, email, company computers and internal systems will be cut off.
Meta plans to provide laid-off US employees with severance packages that include 16 weeks of base pay, plus two additional weeks for every year of service, along with 18 months of health insurance coverage. The severance package is estimated at about $360,000 per employee.
Despite the relatively generous terms, the broader technology job market remains difficult. Former Meta employees who were laid off in previous rounds have reportedly struggled to find new positions, with some experienced software engineers sending hundreds of applications without receiving responses.
Zuckerberg told employees that the company is working to streamline teams and keep the workforce no larger than necessary.
“We are streamlining our teams so that our workforce is no larger than necessary,” he said, adding that artificial intelligence is developing quickly and that management is trying to adapt to the changing environment.