By Katie Paul
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is set to implement anticipated company-wide layoffs next week, while simultaneously forging ahead with the accelerated recruitment of machine learning engineers. This decision was communicated to employees through internal memos obtained by Reuters on Friday.
The notifications informing employees of job losses will commence at 5 a.m. local time on Monday across most countries, including the United States, as detailed in a post authored by Meta’s Head of People, Janelle Gale. Employees based in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands will be spared from the cuts due to local regulations. However, employees in over a dozen other countries spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa can expect to receive their notifications between February 11 and February 18.
In response to inquiries, a Meta spokesperson declined to provide any comments on the aforementioned posts. The company had previously confirmed its intention to reduce approximately 5% of its “lowest performing” employees and to subsequently fill some of the vacant roles. The memo released on Friday, where Gale labeled the reductions as “performance terminations,” was initially reported by The Information.
In contrast to previous instances of company-wide layoffs, Meta intends to maintain its offices operational on Monday and will not issue any updates further elaborating on the decisions, as Gale articulated in her post. Furthermore, a separate memo shared by Peng Fan, the VP of Engineering for Monetization, on Friday, requested employees’ cooperation in expediting the recruitment process for machine learning engineers and other critical engineering positions essential to the business.
This hiring initiative is scheduled to take place between February 11 and March 13, as outlined by Fan in the memo. He expressed gratitude for the ongoing support from employees in helping achieve the company’s accelerated hiring objectives and aligning with its priorities for 2025.
(Reporting by Katie Paul; Editing by David Gregorio)
