Meta layoffs 2025 latest news: Meta layoffs: Here’s the email it sent to its employees it just sacked
Mark Zuckerberg’s memo outlines plans for Meta’s layoff
In a memo first sent to employees in January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined plans to eliminate about 3,600 positions, accounting for roughly 5% of the company’s global workforce. He said the move is part of Meta’s renewed focus on artificial intelligence, smart glasses and what he describes as the “future of social media.”
Zuckerberg also made clear that cuts would be based on performance, calling 2025 a “busy year.” “I decided to raise the bar on performance management and remove underperformers from the group more quickly,” he said at the time. “We typically manage people who don’t meet expectations for a year, but now we’ll be making broader performance-based cuts during this cycle,” he said, as quoted by The Street.
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Layoffs are happening in multiple stages at Meta
The layoffs have occurred in several stages since then. The first round, which began on February 10, affected approximately 4,000 employees in the US, Europe and Asia. Meta later faced backlash from some former employees who said they were rated “at or above expectations” in their 2024 mid-year reviews, according to the report.
In April, another 100 employees at Meta’s Reality Labs division, which develops virtual reality glasses and other wearable technologies, were laid off. By June, managers were reportedly instructed to give major teams 15% to 20% “below expectations” ratings during performance reviews; this is described in internal memos as an effort to “make exit decisions.” ALSO READ: MLB World Series 2025: What time does Blue Jays vs Dodgers start – how to watch, where to watch, channels, broadcast details and game schedule
Meta Super Intelligence Laboratories took the hardest hit before the holidays
Finally, just before the holidays, Meta laid off 600 employees from its Meta Super Intelligence Labs division, which focuses on developing artificial intelligence technologies. The move follows Meta’s nearly $15 billion investment in Scale AI in June, after which Scale CEO Alexandr Wang became Meta’s chief AI officer, The Street reports.
In a memo to employees, Wang explained that the cuts were aimed at streamlining operations, saying, “By reducing the size of our team, less conversation will be needed to make decisions, and each person will carry more load and have more scope and influence,” according to The Street.
He also noted that the company “supports the majority of those impacted in finding new roles within the company,” as noted in the report.
Meta layoffs reflect a broader corporate trend
Meta’s layoffs come amid a broader trend across corporate America; The Resume.org survey shows that 39% of companies have already made layoffs this year, and 35% expect to make further reductions before the end of the year, according to The Street report.
FAQ
Why did Meta lay off its employees again?
Meta is reducing its workforce as part of a company-wide restructuring to focus more on artificial intelligence, smart glasses and future technology.
How many Meta employees lost their jobs this time?
In the last round, approximately 600 employees from Meta’s Super Intelligence Laboratories division were laid off.
