Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, May 20: Meta Platforms has reportedly begun laying off nearly 8,000 employees worldwide as part of a major restructuring drive focused on artificial intelligence, with affected staff receiving termination emails after being instructed to work from home.
According to reports, employees across regions including the United States, Britain and Singapore were asked not to report to office before the layoffs were communicated through emails sent in phases aligned with different time zones.
Bloomberg reported that employees in Meta’s Singapore office received layoff notifications at around 4 am local time.
The latest round of job cuts is expected to impact nearly 10 per cent of Meta’s workforce. The company reportedly had around 78,000 employees prior to the restructuring exercise.
Meta’s Chief People Officer Janelle Gale, in an internal memo, said around 7,000 employees would be reassigned to new AI-focused teams, while nearly 6,000 open job positions had been eliminated. The company is also reducing managerial layers as part of efforts to create flatter organisational structures.
“We’re now at the stage where many organisations can operate with a flatter structure with smaller teams that can move faster and with more ownership,” Gale reportedly stated in the memo.
Engineering and product divisions are expected to face the biggest impact from the restructuring, with reports indicating that additional layoffs could follow later this year.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has increasingly positioned artificial intelligence at the centre of the company’s long-term strategy. The company is reportedly planning to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion this year, largely on AI infrastructure and development.
The layoffs have also triggered unease among employees. Reports suggested that some workers began collecting office supplies and accessories ahead of the formal announcements after details of the cuts leaked internally.
At the same time, reports emerged about a new internal monitoring system allegedly tracking employee activity, including mouse movements and keystrokes, to help train AI systems. The move reportedly faced internal resistance, with over 1,000 employees signing a petition opposing the tracking mechanism.
Industry experts say the layoffs reflect a wider transformation taking place across the global technology sector.
Several major firms, including Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, Disney and ASML, have recently announced job cuts or voluntary exit programmes as companies shift towards AI-driven operations and automation.
Dipal Dutta, CEO of RedoQ, said the developments indicate a deeper structural shift rather than a temporary slowdown.
“The traditional technology model based on expanding workforce numbers is rapidly changing as AI and automation increasingly handle routine tasks,” he said.
Experts believe companies are now prioritising smaller, highly specialised teams capable of designing and managing AI-driven systems instead of large conventional workforces.