Meta Dismisses 3,600 Amid Industry Restructuring

Just the start of the latest round of layoffs.

Meta is laying off about 3,600 employees in what it describes as a move to eliminate “underperformers” and boost efficiency.

A leaked internal memo reported by Reuters on Friday revealed Meta’s plan to weed out underperforming employees more aggressively than in previous years.

“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” Zuckerberg said in the note posted to Meta’s internal message board, as reported by Bloomberg UK.

Affected US-based employees received notifications via email on Monday, with international staff set to be informed throughout the week.

Meta has been tightening its belt since 2023, with Zuckerberg beating the drum for a "year of efficiency." Last month we reported the company’s plans to cut 5% of its workforce, with the lowest performers as primary targets.

Despite the recent reductions in headcount, Meta plans to hire for key positions later this year. Zuckerberg explained that the layoffs are intended to refresh the company's talent and bring in new skills.

The company's total headcount is expected to shrink by 10% by the end of this dismissal cycle, factoring in both current cuts and last year's departures.

This latest round of job cuts at Meta follows a broader trend of workforce reductions across the tech sector in early 2025. Amazon cut dozens of employees last month, while Salesforce laid off hundreds of workers earlier this year.

Just last week, Workday announced it would be letting go of 1,750 employees to help it kick off a strategic shift towards artificial intelligence.

Meta's restructuring coincides with internal policy changes, including ending US fact-checking programmes, scaling back diversity initiatives and adjusting content moderation.

This article originally appeared on our sister site Computing.