In a significant shake-up at Meta, multiple teams faced layoffs on Wednesday as the tech giant continues its strategic resource reallocation. The company confirmed the changes, emphasizing their focus on aligning resources with its long-term goals.
“Today, a few teams at Meta are making changes to ensure resources are aligned with their long-term strategic goals and location strategy,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
“This includes moving some teams to different locations, and moving some employees to different roles. In situations like this when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees.”
The layoffs affected employees working on Reality Labs, Instagram, and WhatsApp, according to The Verge. Jane Manchun Wong, a well-known software engineer hired to join Instagram in 2023, was among those impacted. Wong’s hiring had previously been celebrated by Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth and Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, due to her reputation for uncovering unreleased Meta features.
Several other former employees also shared news of their layoffs on social media. These included staff members who had worked on Facebook, legal operations, recruiting, and design. However, Meta clarified that specific areas, such as Threads, recruiting, and legal operations, were not impacted by these recent changes.
Uncertainty and Decisions Amid Meta’s Reorganization
Though Meta declined to disclose the total number of employees affected, one former staff member shared details with TechCrunch about the options given to some impacted employees. According to the source, many were offered roles under new contracts, while others were given the choice to accept a severance package. Several reportedly opted for severance.
More than a dozen people on my team were informed via video calls on Wednesday that their roles had been impacted, said the former employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the layoffs. The employee also mentioned that some affected employees received six weeks of severance pay.
There were also rumors on the workplace app Blind, echoed by the Financial Times, suggesting that some layoffs were related to misuse of $25 meal credits—in some cases used for purchasing household items rather than food.
Meta’s Layoff Track Record in Recent Years
The latest cuts come as Meta continues trimming its workforce to stabilize the company after pandemic-era overhiring. In 2022, Meta made headlines for laying off approximately 11,000 employees, about 13% of its workforce, an action for which CEO Mark Zuckerberg took full responsibility. The trend continued in 2023, with another 10,000 layoffs and a halt on 5,000 open roles.
These ongoing layoffs reflect the company’s struggle to reallocate resources amid the changing landscape of tech and social media, as Meta aims to fortify its strategic direction while reducing costs.
Meta’s Resource Allocation Strategy: A Sign of What’s to Come?
For Meta, reallocating resources and optimizing workforce efficiency seem to be the key factors in maintaining competitiveness. While these layoffs are part of the company’s broader efforts to re-strategize and streamline operations, they also raise concerns about employee morale and stability within the organization.
What remains clear is that Meta is committed to reshaping its workforce to adapt to evolving priorities—but at a cost that involves painful adjustments for many who once formed the backbone of its key projects.
