Meta layoffs to begin soon, 8,000 employees to lose jobs: Check compensation package details

Meta is preparing for another major round of layoffs, with 8,000 employees set to lose their jobs this week on May 20. The move, which impacts nearly 10 per cent of the company’s global workforce, comes at a time when the social media giant is aggressively changing itself around AI and leaner teams. Just recently, the company informed employees about the upcoming Meta layoffs and that the affected workers will receive what it describes as a "generous" compensation package. Here are the details.

The official memo, which was leaked by Business Insider, says that the laid-off US employees will get 16 weeks of base salary along with an additional two weeks of pay for every year they have worked at the company. Meta will also cover COBRA healthcare costs for employees and their families for 18 months. Workers outside the US are expected to receive similar support, although the exact packages will differ depending on local laws and policies.

The memo was sent by Meta's chief people officer Janelle Gale after reports about the layoffs surfaced publicly. Addressing employees, Gale admitted that the company usually prefers to finalise details before making such announcements, but the information had already leaked.

"Normally, we would want to nail down more details before communicating about this broadly, but since this has leaked, I want to share what I can right now," she wrote in the internal message.

Meta also confirmed that career assistance and immigration support will be offered to affected employees. Workers who are impacted will reportedly receive notifications through both their work and personal email accounts on May 20, which is almost here.

Meta says layoffs are linked to efficiency and AI investments

In the memo, Gale explained that the layoffs are part of Meta’s effort to operate more efficiently while freeing up resources for future investments. Although the company did not directly name AI as the reason in the memo, recent comments from CEO Mark Zuckerberg strongly point in that direction.

During Meta’s recent earnings call, Zuckerberg said AI tools are dramatically changing the way products are built inside the company. He claimed that smaller teams — or even individual employees using AI systems — can now complete projects in days that once required large engineering teams and months of work.

“We’re streamlining our teams so they aren’t larger than necessary,” Zuckerberg reportedly said, describing the layoffs as part of a long-term structural shift rather than a temporary cost-cutting step.

The Meta CEO also argued that AI is not replacing humans entirely, but instead making workers more productive. “AI isn't going to replace people,” Zuckerberg said, while adding that the company wants to build far more products simultaneously with the help of AI-powered development tools.

Layoffs may not end here

The uncertainty inside Meta appears to be growing. During another internal meeting held in April, Gale told employees that the company could not guarantee there would be no more layoffs after May, according to Business Insider.

"While the business is strong, priorities change, competition is fierce, and we will continue to manage our costs responsibly," she said during the meeting.

She added that Meta will continue evolving teams and redeploying talent where possible, especially in divisions focused on Applied AI (which its AI engineering organisation). Some teams are expected to be hit harder than others, although Meta has not revealed which departments are most vulnerable.

Meta's leadership has repeatedly insisted that AI automation itself is not directly replacing workers. However, executives have openly acknowledged that AI is allowing smaller teams to handle much larger workloads.

Meta CFO Susan Li recently said the company is still figuring out what its ideal workforce size should look like as AI tools rapidly improve employee productivity. Meta currently has more than 77,000 employees globally, as per BI. At the same time, the company is spending heavily on AI infrastructure. Meta expects its infrastructure investment to rise sharply this year, with spending projected to reach between $125 billion and $145 billion.