Meta to Layoff 5% of Employees Starting Today

Consultants Review Team

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is poised to begin company-wide layoffs this week. According to a reports, the company will start sending out notifications to employees at 5 AM PST today. Internal memos reveal that, alongside the layoffs, Meta will expedite the hiring of machine learning engineers. The layoffs are expected to impact employees across various countries, including the United States.

However, employees in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands will be spared from these layoffs due to local labor laws. On the other hand, workers in over a dozen other countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa will receive their layoff notifications between February 11 and February 18.

Meta had previously confirmed plans to reduce around 5 percent of its workforce, focusing on "lowest performers," with some roles expected to be refilled. In the memo, the company described the layoffs as “performance terminations,” a term initially reported by The Information.

Unlike previous rounds of layoffs, Meta has opted to keep its offices open on Monday and will not provide additional details regarding the decisions, according to a memo from Janelle Gale, Meta’s Head of People.

In a separate memo shared on Friday, Peng Fan, Meta’s VP of Engineering for Monetization, encouraged employees to support an expedited hiring process for machine learning engineers and other “business-critical” engineering roles. This accelerated hiring initiative is set to occur between February 11 and March 13.

The wave of job cuts is not limited to Meta, as several major tech companies are also making reductions in 2025. Google, for instance, introduced a voluntary exit program for employees in its US Platforms and Devices division, impacting teams within Android and Pixel. The company, just like Meta, sent a memo to its team, stating, "This comes after we brought two large organisations together last year." It added, "There’s tremendous momentum in this team and with so much important work ahead, we want everyone to be deeply committed to our mission and focused on building great products, with speed and efficiency.”

Microsoft has also intensified performance-based layoffs, reportedly letting go of underperforming employees, in some cases without severance. The employees affected by this round of layoffs faced various outcomes, with some indicating they did not receive severance pay. According to reports, at least three employees confirmed they were informed they would not be compensated upon leaving the company. Furthermore, their healthcare benefits were immediately terminated, raising concerns about Microsoft's approach to these layoffs, particularly regarding financial and post-employment support.

Amazon has had to lay off nearly 200 employees from both of its fashion and fitness lines, which was also due to a change in its North America Stores team priorities. Such a change is part of a bigger picture that seeks streamlining the company and making it less bureaucratic to sound much faster, enabling all teams to serve customers better.