Meta has conducted a round of layoffs across several departments, according to a statement made to TechCrunch. The company cited these changes as part of a broader strategy to reallocate resources in line with their long-term goals.
“Today, several teams at Meta are undergoing adjustments to ensure that our resources are better aligned with our long-term strategic objectives and location strategy,” a Meta spokesperson confirmed via email. “These adjustments involve moving certain teams to new locations and shifting employees into different roles. When a position is eliminated, we strive to find new opportunities for those affected.”
According to The Verge, the layoffs impacted employees working on Reality Labs, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
One of the most notable affected employees is Jane Manchun Wong, a software engineer who gained recognition for unveiling upcoming Meta features before joining Instagram in 2023. Her hiring had been celebrated by Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, and Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, at the time.
Other former Meta workers took to social media to announce their layoffs. Employees from various departments, including Facebook, recruitment, legal operations, and design, shared their experiences, as seen by TechCrunch.
However, Meta representatives clarified that teams working on Threads, recruitment, and legal operations were not impacted by this round of layoffs. The company declined to disclose how many employees were affected or which teams were most involved in the reorganization.
A former Meta employee, speaking to TechCrunch anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the situation, shared that some workers were offered new positions with fresh contracts, while others were given the option to accept severance packages. According to the source, many chose the severance package, and more than a dozen team members were informed of their status during video calls. Those affected received six weeks of severance pay.
In an unusual twist, the Financial Times reported that some employees were dismissed for using their $25 meal credits to purchase non-food items like household products, echoing rumors circulating on the workplace app Blind.
Meta has experienced significant layoffs in recent years. In 2022, the company cut approximately 13% of its workforce, equating to around 11,000 employees, for which CEO Mark Zuckerberg took personal responsibility. In 2023, another 10,000 workers were laid off, and Meta also retracted 5,000 open roles that had yet to be filled.
An earlier version of this story indicated that Threads, recruitment, and legal operations were part of Meta’s reorganization. Meta later clarified that these teams were not affected.
