Meta Starts Job Cuts To Focus On AI Talent, Says Report. Here's What The Layoff Email To Employees States

Meta Layoffs: In a separate message to managers, the Facebook co-founder stressed that these cuts were intended to create space for the company to hire the "strongest talent”, as per the report

Meta Layoffs: Employees who were let go received notifications via email

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Meta began informing employees about job cuts on Monday, marking the start of a process that will result in the termination of thousands as the company targets "low performers" and seeks new talent to strengthen its position in the AI race.

Employees who were let go received notifications via email, and the company is offering severance packages to US-based staff, including 16 weeks of salary, plus an additional two weeks for each year of service, according to a report from Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the situation. 

Employees who qualified for a bonus based on their review will still receive it, and staff will continue to receive stock awards during the upcoming vesting cycle later this month, the sources added in the report.

International Employees May Learn Later

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg informed employees that Meta would reduce its workforce by 5 per cent, equating to as many as 3,600 positions, with a focus on those “not meeting expectations,” as first reported by Bloomberg News in mid-January. US-based employees affected by the cuts were notified on February 10, while international employees may learn of their status at a later date, according to Zuckerberg’s statement last month.

In a separate message to managers, the Facebook co-founder stressed that these cuts were intended to create space for the company to hire the "strongest talent”, as per the report.

AI Race

Job cuts have been a recurring theme at Meta in recent years, with the company laying off thousands of employees in 2022 and 2023 as part of an ongoing efficiency drive. This latest round of layoffs is expected to be completed by the end of the performance cycle in February, as Meta continues its efforts to outpace rivals like OpenAI and DeepMind in the rapidly evolving AI race.

In late January, Zuckerberg told investors that Meta plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure over time. The California-based company is integrating AI across its various apps and business units, including social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, as well as virtual reality glasses, states the report.