Meta to cut 10% of jobs, or 8k employees

Source: Hacker News

In Brief

Meta is planning to cut 10 % of its workforce, amounting to 8,000 employees, according to a report from Bloomberg. The company will also freeze hiring for 6,000 open roles.

An internal memo sent to employees on Thursday—viewed by Bloomberg—states that the layoffs will begin on May 20. Reuters had earlier reported on Meta’s plans for sweeping layoffs.

“We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” chief people officer Janelle Gale told employees, according to the memo. “This is not an easy trade‑off and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here.”

Meta spent tens of billions on its metaverse initiatives, which largely failed. The company has also been making major investments in AI to stay competitive—earlier this month it debuted a completely overhauled AI product called Muse Spark.

Image credit: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg / Getty Images