Meta Platforms has begun a new round of global layoffs affecting thousands of employees, including workers in Israel, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushes the company deeper into artificial intelligence and into aggressive corporate restructuring.

According to reports and internal company memos, approximately 8,000 employees — around 10% of Meta’s workforce — are expected to lose their jobs in the current phase of cuts. The layoffs began rolling out on Wednesday across Asia, Europe, and North America, with employees in Singapore among the first to receive termination notices.

Israeli employees also began receiving dismissal notices in recent hours. While the exact number of affected workers in Israel has not been officially confirmed, estimates suggest that dozens of employees could be impacted.

AI Revolution Driving the Cuts

The layoffs are part of a much broader transformation underway inside Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Meta is dramatically increasing investments in AI infrastructure and automation, with planned capital expenditures estimated at between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026.

Internal documents cited by several media outlets indicate that:

• roughly 7,000 employees are being reassigned into AI-focused teams
• management layers are being reduced
• Thousands of open positions are being frozen or eliminated
• Organizational structures are being flattened to speed up AI development

In a memo to employees, Meta’s Chief People Officer Janelle Gale said the company was acting “to run the company more efficiently” while redirecting resources toward AI investments.

“Transfers Aren’t Optional”

Internal Tension Grows as Employees Face Forced Reassignments

Reports from inside the company describe growing anxiety and deteriorating morale among employees.

According to The Guardian, workers have been told that transfers into AI-related divisions are mandatory in many cases. Some managers have reportedly been reassigned into lower-ranking engineering roles as Meta attempts to reduce bureaucracy and increase productivity.

Employees also expressed concerns over new internal monitoring systems connected to AI development. One controversial initiative reportedly tracks keystrokes, mouse activity and workflow data in order to improve Meta’s AI systems.

Harsh Dismissal Process Reportedly Shocks Workers

Employees have described the dismissal process itself as abrupt and impersonal.

Workers reportedly received early morning emails informing them that their employment had ended, while access to company systems — including email accounts, computers and internal platforms — was simultaneously revoked.

Several reports also described employees taking office supplies, snacks and electronic accessories home in anticipation of possible layoffs as uncertainty spread across Meta offices worldwide.

Despite the scale of the layoffs, Meta is reportedly offering relatively generous severance terms in the United States:

• 16 weeks of base pay
• an additional two weeks for every year of service
• up to 18 months of health insurance coverage

However, former Meta employees say the broader tech labor market has weakened significantly. Even experienced software engineers reportedly struggle to secure interviews despite having Meta listed on their résumés.

Biggest Strategic Shift Since the “Year of Efficiency”

The current cuts represent Meta’s largest restructuring effort since 2023, when the company eliminated roughly 21,000 jobs during Zuckerberg’s so-called “Year of Efficiency.”

Since then, Meta has increasingly shifted away from its costly metaverse strategy and toward artificial intelligence, amid fierce competition with companies such as OpenAI, Google and Anthropic