The day that Meta employees have dreaded for a month has arrived. Emails have begun going out, and thousands of workers are learning that their jobs are disappearing.
Meta started sending layoff notifications to roughly 10% of its 78,000 employees, eliminating an estimated 8,000 roles. The cuts are hitting teams across the company, including Integrity, cybersecurity, and content design. Managerial positions are being slashed to create “flatter organizational structures” that can move faster, according to an internal memo from Meta HR chief Janelle Gale.
The notifications are being sent in three waves at 4 a.m. local time on May 20 across different regions. US employees were instructed to work from home on Wednesday, according to an internal message viewed by Business Insider.
What Laid-Off Workers Get
US employees will receive a severance package including 16 weeks of base pay — four months — plus two additional weeks for every year of continuous employment, according to an internal document seen by Business Insider. They will also get 18 months of healthcare coverage under COBRA for themselves and their families — triple the previous amount.
Employees outside the US will receive similar packages that vary by country.
The severance is generous. Some employees have even expressed hope that they would be laid off. Business Insider found seven Meta staffers posting on the tech worker platform Blind who said they wished they would be cut. “I’m praying for the axe,” one post read. Another wrote that morale had never felt this low, but that the severance package made the prospect of being laid off almost attractive.
“If I am laid off, awesome,” one worker wrote.
Why Meta Is Cutting
Meta first announced the coming layoffs on April 23. The company said the job cuts would help it run “more efficiently” and offset massive investments in artificial intelligence. Meta is spending billions in the AI race and in April forecast its 2026 capital expenditures to range from $125 billion to $145 billion.
The company also plans to move more than 7,000 employees to work on new AI initiatives. That means even as Meta cuts 8,000 roles, it is simultaneously redeploying thousands more. The net reduction in headcount is real, but the company is not shrinking so much as it is reallocating.
Gale told staff that leaders across the company will announce organizational changes alongside the layoffs. Meta leaders have also told staff that they are not ruling out further job cuts beyond this round.
The Human Toll
At an internal meeting last month, Gale acknowledged that morale had taken a hit due to the looming layoffs. She said the tech giant was doing its best to make a “shitty situation “the best version possible, pointing to the tripled COBRA coverage as evidence.
Since the April 23 announcement, employees have been working in a state of limbo, unsure of their fate. For the 8,000 receiving notifications, that uncertainty is now over. For those who remain, the question is whether the flatter, faster structure that Meta is building will be a place they still want to work.
Not everyone is devastated. The generous severance has led some employees to hope for a cut. But for most, the waiting has been agonizing.
The Bottom Line
Meta has begun sending layoff emails to roughly 10% of its workforce, eliminating an estimated 8,000 roles. Managerial positions are being cut to create flatter organizational structures. US employees will receive 16 weeks of base pay plus two weeks per year of service, along with 18 months of healthcare coverage. The company is also moving more than 7,000 employees to AI initiatives.
Meta first announced the coming layoffs on April 23, citing efficiency and the need to offset massive AI investments. Leaders have not ruled out further job cuts beyond this round. Some employees have even wished for the axe, hoping to collect the generous severance. But for most, the day they dreaded has arrived — and the waiting is finally over.
