Meta Platforms Starts Announced Layoffs

Meta Platforms started a round of employee layoffs as part of its plan to shift its workforce to high-priority areas such as AI. Thousands of Meta staff received email notifications they were being let go.

US-based employees will receive severance packages involving 16 weeks of salary and two weeks of pay for each year of their employment. Eligible staff will still receive bonuses, and the company is awarding stock.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg informed employees last month the company plans to cull 5% of its workforce, around 3,600 people, explaining staff in the US would receive notice on 10 February and international workers at a later date. On its 4Q24 earnings call, CFO Susan Li stated it had more than 74,000 employees at the end of December, a 10% increase on 2023.

She noted staff pay would be the next-largest driver of expense growth after infrastructure in 2025 as the company shifts more resources toward generative AI, its Reality Labs division, infrastructure monetization, and regulation and compliance. Last month, Zuckerberg revealed Meta plans capex of $60 billion to $65 billion in 2025, as part of a scheme to broaden its AI infrastructure.