Meta announced that it will lay off 5% of its employees, and approximately 3,600 people will be affected. This is the largest reduction after layoffs in 2023. The move is aimed at responding to the fierce innovation challenges in 2025 and improving the company's operational efficiency. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company will change its management strategy, prioritize layoffs of underperforming employees, and bring in better talent to drive the company's ambitions in artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Affected employees will be notified before February 10 and receive generous severance compensation.
According to an internal Meta memo, the company will "remove underperforming employees more quickly" and fill open positions. Zuckerberg believes that leaner organizations can execute on top priorities faster and make employees more productive. Although the layoffs are large, Meta emphasized that employees who are optimistic about future performance will not be affected. The layoffs are part of Meta's ongoing strategy to optimize efficiency and aim to lay a solid foundation for the company's future development.
The number of employees affected in this layoff may exceed 3,600, based on Meta's total headcount as of September, which was 72,000. Although the company will lay off employees who perform poorly, Zuckerberg also mentioned that if an employee is optimistic about their future performance, they may not be affected by layoffs. The Wall Street Journal pointed out that the specific list of layoffs will be notified to relevant employees before February 10, and the laid off employees will receive "generous severance compensation."
This round of layoffs is Meta's largest round since 2023. Last year, the company laid off 10,000 people in what was called the "Year of Efficiency." That layoff follows another round of layoffs involving 11,000 employees. Zuckerberg has said that an "unintended result" of reducing the number of employees is that the company's operational efficiency has improved, and many tasks have become faster.
Zuckerberg told employees in 2023 that "a leaner organization will execute the highest priorities faster." He believes that employees will be more productive and their work will become more interesting and fulfilling. That's why, in its "Year of Efficiency," Meta focused on eliminating duplicate or lower-priority projects to make every department as lean as possible.
Meta’s new strategy aims to advance the company’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and augmented reality by bringing in top talent.
Highlight:
Meta plans to lay off 5% of its employees, which will affect approximately 3,600 employees.
Zuckerberg emphasized that priority will be given to eliminating underperforming employees to improve the overall efficiency of the team.
Affected employees will be notified before February 10 and will receive generous severance compensation.
Meta's layoffs are a strategic move to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and focus on core businesses such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Although the layoffs will have a certain impact, Meta hopes to achieve long-term sustainable development through this move and maintain its competitiveness in the technology field. Future development deserves continued attention.