Leaked memo reveals over 3000 Meta employees to lose jobs; company-wide layoff to be initiated

Mark Zuckerberg-led tech conglomerate is set to lay off about 3000 of its employees according to a leaked memo obtained by Business Insider. This move is in line with Meta’s announcement that it was preparing to reduce its workforce by 5%. 

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Everything to know about the Layoffs 

Janelle Gale, the company's Vice President of Human Resources, sent the message through Meta's internal Workplace platform. According to media sources quoting the leaked memo, Gale advised affected staff that they would be informed via email on Monday.

Employees in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands will be excluded from the layoffs "due to local regulations". Meanwhile, employees in more than a dozen other countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa will receive layoff notices between February 11 and February 18, according to reports citing the company's internal memo.

Layoff notifications for US employees will be sent out on Monday at 6:30 p.m. while some international employees might have received it as early as 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. Employees will lose access to company systems within an hour of receiving the notification. The email will also include information about severance pay as well.

“For teams losing a teammate or manager on Monday, I understand this might be a difficult day,” Gale wrote,  acknowledging the excruciating impact of the cuts. Although offices will be open, those who can work remotely are encouraged to do so.

Meta's hybrid work model requires employees to be in the office three days a week. The message further stated that Meta will not reveal the identity of individuals laid off to the public. Some roles may be refilled, but no precise date has been provided. If a manager is let go, their team will be assigned to a new leader.

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Next steps for Meta 

In addition to the layoffs, Meta intends to accelerate the recruiting of machine learning (ML) developers, according to another internal document circulated to employees. The message stated that the corporation intends to speed up recruitment for ML and other "business-critical" engineering posts.

A different memo from Peng Fan, Meta's Vice President of Engineering for Monetization, described the procedure for this rapid hiring push. Fan particularly asked staff to assist with the rapid recruitment of ML engineers and other key positions.

The rapid hiring push is expected to take place between February 11 and March 13. Fan also stated that the recruitment push is part of a larger strategy to better match Meta's workforce with its changing priorities for 2025.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had informed employees about the job cuts last month. He stated that Meta was strengthening its performance standards and intended to dismiss low performers sooner. Meta typically phases out underperformers over a year, but this time, the company is making deeper cuts based on recent performance reports.

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