Meta is set to reduce its workforce by approximately 3,000 jobs. The layoffs start on February 10 as revealed in an internal memo circulated on Friday. Janelle Gale, the company’s Vice President of Human Resources, shared the message via Meta’s internal Workplace platform. Media reports citing the leaked memo state that Gale informed employees that those affected would be notified by email on Monday morning.
Meta confirmed last month that it was preparing to reduce approximately 5% of its workforce, targeting what it described as its “lowest performers.” The company also indicated that it would backfill some of these roles. The memo sent on Friday, in which Gale referred to the layoffs as “performance terminations,” was initially reported by The Information.
Employees in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands will be exempt from the upcoming layoffs “due to local regulations”. Meanwhile, employees in over a dozen other countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa will receive their layoff notifications between February 11 and February 18, according reports citing the company’s internal communications.
The layoffs will begin early Sunday at 2:30 a.m. IST for international staff, while U.S. employees will receive their notifications at 6:30 p.m. IST on Monday. Within an hour of the notification, employees will lose access to company systems. The email will also include details regarding severance packages.
“For teams losing a colleague or manager on Monday, I recognize that this will be a challenging day,” Gale wrote, acknowledging the emotional toll of the cuts. Although offices will remain open, employees with the flexibility to work remotely are encouraged to do so.
Under Meta’s hybrid work model, employees are required to be in the office three days per week. However, working remotely on Monday will still be counted as in-office time. The memo further clarified that Meta would not disclose the identities of those laid off publicly. Some roles may be refilled, though no specific timeline has been provided. If a manager is let go, their team will be reassigned to a new leader.
This round of cuts follows an announcement from CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month, where he outlined plans to raise performance standards and more rapidly eliminate low performers. Typically, Meta phases out underperformers over the course of a year, but this time, the company has opted for more immediate reductions based on recent performance reviews.
In addition to the layoffs, Meta also plans to fast-track the hiring of machine learning (ML) engineers, according to another internal memo circulated to employees. The memo highlighted the company’s intention to expedite recruitment for ML and other “business-critical” engineering positions.
A separate memo from Peng Fan, Meta’s Vice President of Engineering for Monetization, outlined the process for this accelerated hiring initiative. Fan specifically requested employees to assist in the expedited recruitment of ML engineers and other key roles.
The hiring push is expected to occur between February 11 and March 13. Fan further emphasized that the recruitment effort is part of a broader strategy to better align Meta’s workforce with its evolving priorities for 2025.
Meta joins a growing list of tech companies that have implemented layoffs in recent months. Amazon recently pared down its workforce, and Salesforce also made significant cuts earlier this year, shedding approximately 1,000 jobs.
Read more: Microsoft implements instant layoffs with no severance for departing staff