Meta to Cut Thousands of Jobs Amid AI Hiring Push

Meta will begin company-wide layoffs on Tuesday as part of its strategy to hire more machine learning engineers, according to internal memos seen by Reuters.

Key Points

• Notices for U.S. employees will be sent by Monday at 5 AM (local time), while affected workers in Europe, Asia, and Africa will be notified between February 11 and 18.
• Within an hour, they will lose access to company systems. The email will also include details about severance packages.
• Employees in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands will not be affected due to local labor laws.
• Meta is eliminating about 5% of its lowest-performing employees as part of its plan to improve efficiency and focus on AI development.
• 
  Mark Zuckerberg said the goal is to “raise the bar on performance” and streamline operations, warning that 2024 and 2025 will be challenging years.
• Unlike previous layoffs, Meta will keep offices open and won’t provide further updates on the decisions.
• 
  In a separate memo on Friday, Peng Fan, VP of Engineering for Monetization, urged employees to support an accelerated hiring process for machine learning engineers and other “business critical” engineering positions.

Tech Giants Cut Jobs as AI Reshapes Workforce

In early 2025, major tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, announced significant layoffs.

Salesforce revealed plans to lay off around 1,000 employees while hiring new salespeople for its AI products.

British telecommunications company BT plans to cut approximately 55,000 jobs by the end of decade, replacing around 10000 of these roles with artificial intelligence.

Amazon intends to reduce its workforce by about 14,000 employees by the end of the first quarter, aiming to streamline operations and invest in AI initiatives.

These decisions reflect a broader industry trend of restructuring to prioritize artificial intelligence and enhance efficiency.

News Gist

Meta will begin layoffs on Tuesday to hire more machine learning engineers.

Notices will be sent to U.S. employees by Monday, with other regions notified between February 11-18.

Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands are exempt.

Meta is cutting 5% of low performers to boost efficiency, focusing on AI development.