For thousands of employees at Meta, Wednesday started with the kind of email nobody wants to wake up to. Sent at 4 am, the message confirmed what many inside the company had quietly feared for weeks: another major round of layoffs was underway.
The company is cutting nearly 8,000 jobs, roughly 10 per cent of its workforce, while also moving more than 7,000 employees into AI-focused roles. The restructuring is part of Meta’s aggressive push into artificial intelligence, even as it tries to keep costs under control.
Meta layoffs begin with early morning email
The email, first obtained by Business Insider, was formal and measured in tone. But the message itself landed hard.
Employees were told that if they were already at the office, they should “gather any personal items at your desk and head home.” The company also confirmed that employee badges had been deactivated and access to internal systems would soon be removed.
Within an hour, affected workers would instead be redirected to Meta’s “Alumni Portal”, where they could find details about severance packages, benefits, visas and job-search support.
“Your impact at Meta has been an important part of our story,” the email said.
Meta pushes harder into AI
Meta described the layoffs as part of its “continued effort to run the company more efficiently”. The company also said the cuts would help “offset the other investments” it is making, pointing directly to its massive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The company has projected capital expenditure between $125 billion and $145 billion this year, more than double what it spent in 2025.
Even while employees were being laid off, Meta was simultaneously reorganising teams internally to focus more heavily on AI work. The restructuring affects nearly one in five employees in some form, either through job cuts or team reshuffles.
As of March, Meta had around 78,000 employees worldwide.
Mark Zuckerberg says he ‘feels the weight of it’
In a separate memo to staff, Zuckerberg acknowledged how difficult the cuts were.
“It’s always sad to say good-bye to people who have contributed to our mission and to building this company,” he wrote. “I feel the weight of that.”
At the same time, he tried to reassure remaining employees that more large-scale layoffs are not expected this year.
Zuckerberg also leaned heavily into Meta’s long-term AI ambitions, saying the company is “one of the few companies positioned to help define the future” and repeating his goal of building “personal superintelligence” for people around the world.
The latest cuts are Meta’s biggest company-wide layoffs since Zuckerberg’s 2022-23 “Year of Efficiency”, when around 21,000 jobs were eliminated across the company.
Severance, visa support and exit process
Meta said affected employees would receive 16 weeks of base pay as severance, along with an additional two weeks for every year they had worked at the company.
The company will also continue covering health insurance premiums for workers and their families for up to 18 months. Employees will still receive vested stock grants and any pending paid time off dues.
Meta added that it would provide three months of external job-search assistance through Lee Hecht Harrison.
For employees on visas, especially H-1B workers in the US tech industry, the situation is more uncertain. Meta said the Alumni Portal would include immigration guidance and contact details for assigned law firms.
One line in the email stood out more than most. Although Meta had earlier asked employees to work from home on the day the layoffs began, anyone who still came into the office received a direct instruction to collect their belongings and leave.
And after all the details about severance agreements, system access, visas and benefits, the company ended the message with one final line: “Finally, we want to say again that we’re grateful for your contributions.”
Meta layoff email: Read full text
As previously shared, we have decided to reduce headcount as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making. Unfortunately, your role has been eliminated as part of today’s reorganization. Before sharing additional details, we want to thank you for all you’ve contributed to Meta. We appreciate the important role you’ve played in the company’s journey.
We understand you will have questions as you process this news. Please read below to learn more. We also encourage you to view the Alumni Portal (Meta.com/alumni), which you can access within an hour of losing system access and has additional information and resources to assist you. More information about the Alumni Portal is below.
Non-working notice period
From today through [redacted] (your “Termination Date”), you are in a “non-working notice period.” During this time, your internal access will be removed and you do not need to do any additional work for Meta.
You will continue to accrue PTO until your Termination Date, and your remaining PTO will be paid out in your final paycheck at the end of this period. During the notice period, you will be paid “Notice Pay,” which you will see on your payslips and is the same amount as your salary.
Leave of absence (if applicable): Your employment will end on your Termination Date that was communicated to you. Any leaves of absence will end on your Termination Date. Please note that to the extent applicable, you may still continue to receive disability benefits after your separation date if your disability meets the disability plan requirements.
Benefits and compensation details
Your benefits and compensation will continue through your Termination Date.
You will continue to receive your full salary and benefits through your Termination Date, as well as any RSU grants that have vested on or before your Termination Date as provided in the Equity Incentive Plan. To support you in your job search, you will also have access to three complimentary months of external job search assistance through Lee Hecht Harrison (“LHH”), as further detailed in the enclosed LHH Outplacement Services flyer.
Severance details
Attached is a non-signable version of a Separation Agreement with full details of your individual package (do not sign this version). A signable Separation Agreement will be sent to your personal email address from [redacted] later today with full details of your individual package. You must sign your Separation Agreement to receive your severance payout.
If you do not receive an electronic signable Separation Agreement by the end of the day tomorrow on your personal email, please check your spam folder. If you still haven’t received the agreement, please submit a case via the Alumni Portal. (Note: If you apply for and accept a different position at Meta no later than one week prior to your Termination Date, you will remain a Meta employee and therefore this Separation Agreement will be void and you would not be eligible for severance under the terms of the Severance Plan.)
As a Regular Employee (FTE), you’re eligible for the following severance offer:
Severance payment of 16 weeks plus two weeks for every year of completed services, minus your notice period. Please see the cover sheet of the attached Separation Agreement for more details on this calculation.
Payment of COBRA (health insurance) premiums for you and your family (if they are dependents on your current plan) for 18 months.
Immigration support for visa workers
We know this is especially difficult for those whose visa and work authorization is sponsored by Meta. The Alumni Portal has general immigration guidance to help address your immediate questions. The guidance also contains the contact information for your assigned law firm. You can also open a case via the Alumni Portal if you have specific questions about your case.
System access and office information
Since you have entered a paid non-working notice period, your badge has been deactivated and your access to internal Meta systems will be removed this morning. If you are already in the office, we ask that you please gather any personal items at your desk and head home. If you have personal items that need to be retrieved, instructions are available on the Alumni Portal.
Getting more information
We know this is a lot to process, so we’ve compiled resources about pay, benefits and other considerations for you in the Alumni Portal. You can access the Alumni Portal within an hour of losing system access today as mentioned above. You will need your employee ID, which is provided at the top of this email, to access the site.
Finally, we want to say again that we’re grateful for your contributions. Your impact at Meta has been an important part of our story.
Sincerely,
Meta Leadership
For many employees, though, the carefully worded email still boiled down to one thing: years of work ending in a single morning. And as Meta doubles down on AI, thousands of workers are now left figuring out what comes next.
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