Meta will lay off 10% of the workforce, 8,000 people
The Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp matrix is focused on enormous investments in the field of artificial intelligence
BarcelonaMeta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, will carry out a new round of layoffs affecting approximately 10% of its workforce, which is about 8,000 employees. The measure will be applied on May 20, according to an internal memorandum leaked by Bloomberg this Thursday. In the communication addressed to employees, the company's chief people officer, Janelle Gale, confirms that the decision will also involve the closure of about 6,000 unfilled vacancies.
"I know this is unpleasant news and that confirming it causes concern for everyone, but we believe it is the best option given the circumstances," the executive states in the text. The chief people officer states that these layoffs are part of "the ongoing effort to manage the company more efficiently and to offset other investments we are making."
The company led by Mark Zuckerberg is in a phase of heavy investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and operational cost readjustment. Meta announced at the beginning of the current fiscal year an investment of between 60,000 and 65,000 million dollars, focused mainly on the development of artificial intelligence. The company has committed to competing with OpenAI – creator of ChatGPT – and Alphabet, the parent company of Google in the field of AI.
The company details that employees affected in the United States will receive a basic severance of 16 weeks' salary, to which two additional weeks will be added for each year of seniority in the company. The exit process will be formalized on May 20, the date on which affected employees will receive a notification in their corporate and personal emails. The workforce reduction aims to balance the accounts given the high investments allocated to AI.
Furthermore, in the community to the workforce, the company has encouraged employees to use AI agents internally to assist with programming and other tasks. Meta had almost 79,000 employees at the beginning of the year. The company plans to present its first-quarter results next week.
