Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has laid off about 8,000 employees, according to the report. The terminations were communicated through email.
The company first instructed employees in the US and the UK not to come to office and to work from home. It later sent emails informing affected staff of their job losses, with some employees in Singapore reportedly receiving the notice around 4 am.
The report links the cost-cutting move to the wider push among technology firms to prioritise artificial intelligence (AI) and invest heavily in the sector. Meta is said to be planning investments of $125–145 billion in AI this year.
Alongside the layoffs, Meta has reportedly moved 7,000 employees into AI-related roles and permanently removed 6,000 vacant positions. Engineering and sales teams are said to be among the most impacted.
The report also says employees had been anxious about possible job cuts in recent days, leading some to take free office snacks and laptop chargers. It adds that Meta installed new software on employee laptops to track keyboard and mouse activity, which staff are protesting.
