Meta Unleashes Mass Layoffs

Meta began mass layoffs on employees across the world Monday.

The company, which owns Facebook, is letting go of thousands of workers as it prepares to hire a round of machine learning engineers this year, according to Reuters. Newsweek spoke to several experts about the move and what's coming for the tech industry.

Why It Matters

Tech layoffs have been common since 2022 when the industry course-corrected after massive hiring sprees during the coronavirus pandemic.

Already in 2025, 42 companies have laid off roughly 11,000 employees, according to layoffs.fyi.

What To Know

Meta sent out notices to the employees who lost their jobs starting at 5 a.m. Monday local time.

Nearly 4,000 workers across the globe are set to be impacted, with only Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands exempt from the cuts due to local laws.

Employees in Europe, Asia and Africa will be notified of the layoffs between February 11 and February 19.

Newsweek reached out to Meta for comment via email.

The company previously said it would be getting rid of 5 percent of its employee base based on performance.

Hiring for machine learning engineers, meanwhile, will commence on Tuesday and go on until March 13, Reuters reported.

What People Are Saying

Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek: "Interestingly, the company is simultaneously looking to hire more machine learning engineers—a move that raises questions, as these engineers are essentially building technologies that could eventually replace human jobs. There are two ways to view this: layoffs, 'right-sizing,' or 'cost-cutting' are all industry terms for the same fundamental goal—profitability. This is a profit-boosting strategy, as employee expenses are the largest overhead cost for most companies, and reducing headcount is the fastest way to increase margins."

Tim Heneveld, the country director of PERGOLUX North America, told Newsweek: "Meta's recent layoffs appear to be part of a broader shift toward AI and operational restructuring. While this may help the company stay competitive, it also brings uncertainty for employees navigating these changes."

Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: "Meta is implementing a layoff process similar to its other big tech peers that has become more common since the phasing out of the pandemic era workplace. The company is cutting around five percent of its overall workforce in the hope of parting ways with some of their poorer performing staff members. It's a process we're going to see more of from other tech companies this year. Whereas the pandemic era was an unprecedented time of revenue growth and workplace flexibility for these companies, now the focus has turned to operating and fiscal efficiency. The vast majority of these jobs in big tech should still be safe ones. These layoffs are going to be reserved for positions that either aren't needed or where the company feels it can make a substantial upgrade."

HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek: "Meta's latest round of layoffs is not about efficiency - it's about squeezing workers for the sake of Wall Street. Big tech spent years hiring aggressively, inflating headcounts to showcase growth, and now they're using efficiency as a smokescreen to slash jobs and further pad profits. Meta in particular is shifting focus to AI and its metaverse ambitions, leaving real workers as collateral damage in the pursuit of investor satisfaction."

What Happens Next

More tech layoffs are likely in the year ahead, Thompson said, but many of these jobs are likely to be absorbed by other companies.

"For employees facing layoffs, it's important to reflect on the situation—was the decision based on performance, or was it simply due to shifts in the tech landscape? Understanding the why behind your layoff is the key to your next endeavor," Thompson said.