Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is starting a round of layoffs across multiple countries, focusing on hiring more machine learning engineers. The layoffs will begin on Tuesday, as stated in internal memos sent to employees on Friday, according to Reuters.
One memo from Meta’s head of people, Janelle Gale, mentioned that the layoffs, including for employees in the US, would start by 5 a.m. local time on Monday. However, employees in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands are excluded from this due to local laws.
Employees in more than a dozen other countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa will receive notifications of their layoffs between February 11 and February 18.
Meta is cutting about 5 per cent of its “lowest performing” employees, with some positions being refilled. The company is letting go of over 3,000 workers, as confirmed by layoff tracking site layoff.fyi. CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the goal is to improve performance by removing underperforming employees quickly.
He has already warned that 2024 and 2025 will be challenging years for the company. While Meta is still heavily investing in AI and the metaverse, these job cuts show the pressure on tech companies to stay profitable and efficient.
Unlike previous rounds of layoffs, Meta is keeping its offices open on Monday and won’t issue further updates on these decisions, according to Gale’s memo.
In a separate memo, Peng Fan, VP of Engineering for Monetisation, asked employees to support faster hiring for machine learning engineers and other key roles. This hiring process will take place between February 11 and March 13.
