Meta is set to lay off about 10% of its global workforce on May 20, with job cuts and internal transfers together affecting roughly a fifth of the company’s employees as it reorganises around artificial intelligence initiatives. An internal memo reviewed by multiple outlets said around 8,000 jobs will be eliminated, while a further 7,000 employees are being reassigned to AI-focused projects.
According to the document, as reported by Bloomberg layoff notifications will be sent in three global batches beginning at 4 a.m. local time in each region, meaning staff will learn their fate in synchronised waves across time zones. The memo, from Chief People Officer Janelle Gale, also indicated that many leaders will announce organisational changes in parallel with the job cuts. Earlier guidance instructed some workers, including in North America, to work remotely on the day the reductions take effect.
The restructuring is designed to support Meta’s expanding AI strategy while flattening its management structure. Gale told employees the company plans to eliminate a number of managerial roles and fold staff into new AI-oriented units such as Applied AI Engineering and Agent Transformation Accelerator XFN, both part of its “AI for Work” efforts. Some of those transfers, which employees internally refer to as “drafting,” have already begun, with more to be completed alongside Wednesday’s cuts.
Meta has also shut roughly 6,000 open positions as part of the same programme, signalling a broader hiring pullback in non-priority areas. Company leaders have linked the layoffs and hiring freeze to the need to fund rising capital expenditure on AI infrastructure and products, framing the move as an attempt to run the business more efficiently while redirecting resources. Executives have not ruled out further job reductions later this year as the overhaul continues, according to comments cited in recent reports.
The May 20 cuts cap weeks of uncertainty for staff after Meta first disclosed plans in April to reduce its headcount by about 10% and cancel thousands of open roles. With notifications now scheduled to go out in the early hours of Wednesday in markets worldwide, the company is poised to complete one of its most sweeping workforce resets as it accelerates its push to embed AI across products and internal operations.
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