- Thousands of Jobs at Risk as Company Restructures Workforce
- Machine Learning Engineers to Be Prioritized in Hiring Drive
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, is set to implement another round of layoffs across its operations in Africa, Europe, and Asia, starting Monday.
In an internal memo seen by Reuters on Friday, Meta’s Head of People, Janelle Gale, informed employees that job cuts would begin at 5 a.m. local time in most affected countries, including the United States. However, workers in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands will be exempted due to local labor laws. Employees in over a dozen other countries will receive their termination notices between February 11 and February 18.
Last month, Meta confirmed plans to trim around 5% of its “lowest-performing” employees, with some positions expected to be backfilled. Unlike previous large-scale layoffs, the company will keep its offices open on Monday and will not issue further updates on the matter, Gale stated.
In a separate memo, Peng Fan, Meta’s Vice President of Engineering for Monetization, urged employees to assist in an accelerated hiring process for machine learning engineers and other “business-critical” roles. The expedited hiring drive will run from February 11 to March 13 as Meta seeks to realign with its 2025 priorities.
“Thank you for your continued support in helping us achieve our accelerated hiring goals,” Fan wrote, emphasizing the company’s focus on strengthening its artificial intelligence and engineering divisions despite the widespread job cuts.
