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Meta Layoffs: According to a Bloomberg report, Singapore-based employees received the email around 4:00 AM local time. In Indian Standard Time (IST), this email was sent around 1:30 AM.

Meta Layoffs: Meta—ranked among the world's largest tech companies—has once again initiated large-scale layoffs. This time, the company's approach was notably distinct and startling. Employees were first abruptly instructed to work from home, and subsequently, they were informed of their job termination via emails sent in the early morning hours.

According to the report, Meta—the parent company of Facebook and Instagram—is letting go of approximately 8,000 employees, constituting roughly 10 percent of its total workforce. Emails were first dispatched to employees in Singapore. Subsequently, notifications began reaching employees in the U.S., the UK, and other nations, staggered according to their respective time zones.

Singapore Employees Received Emails First

As per the Bloomberg report, Singapore-based employees received the email around 4:00 AM local time. In Indian Standard Time (IST), this email was sent around 1:30 AM. Employees were informed via email that their jobs had been terminated. Following this, similar notifications were sent to employees in various other countries.

Prior Instructions to Work from Home

Ahead of the layoffs, Meta had instructed its employees to work remotely. Janelle Gale, the company's Chief People Officer, had asked employees to work from home that day rather than coming into the office. It is believed that the company took this decision to preempt any potential protests, tension, or chaos within the workplace. While many employees sensed that something significant was brewing within the company, few had anticipated a layoff of this magnitude.

Focus on AI: Roles of Thousands of Employees to Be Restructured

The primary reason cited for these layoffs is the company's intensifying focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to reports, Meta plans to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion on AI projects this year. The company is not merely reducing its headcount; it is also implementing large-scale internal restructuring. According to an internal memo by Janelle Gale, approximately 7,000 employees are set to be reassigned to new AI-native teams. Meanwhile, around 6,000 open positions are being eliminated entirely. The company is now adopting a strategy focused on operating with smaller, more agile teams. Furthermore, it is reported that these changes are likely to have the most significant impact on the engineering and project teams. The company is also preparing to reduce managerial roles to facilitate faster decision-making through a flatter organizational structure. Experts believe that further workforce reductions could occur in the coming months.

Heightened Stress and Insecurity Among Employees

The atmosphere within Meta has remained tense for some time now. Reports of layoffs began surfacing as early as April, leading to a decline in employee morale. Some reports claimed that employees started taking items—such as free office snacks and laptop chargers—home even before any formal announcements were made. Amidst this, a controversy emerged regarding a new internal tool deployed by the company. It was alleged that this system was tracking employees' mouse movements and keyboard activity in order to train its AI systems. This sparked growing resentment among the workforce, with over a thousand employees signing a petition in protest against the tool.