Meta drops 4AM horror mail to cut 8,000 jobs amid AI push

Meta has started a new round of layoffs affecting about 10% of its global workforce, roughly 8,000 employees. Employees in Singapore received layoff emails early in the morning, and workers in other regions were told to work from home to reduce visible unrest. Meta previously had about 78,000 employees, and the restructuring includes reassigning 7,000 workers into new AI-native teams while closing around 6,000 open roles. Engineering and product teams are expected to face the largest cuts, with additional reductions possible later. Morale has reportedly fallen, and some employees have opposed employee-tracking software that records mouse movements and keystrokes for AI training, with concerns that it could enable future replacement.

"Meta has begun its latest round of layoffs, impacting around 10 percent of its global workforce, which makes about 8,000 employees. Bloomberg reported that the staff in Singapore started receiving emails at 4 am local time (12:00 pm Dubai Time). Employees across other regions, including the US and Britain, were asked to work from home on Wednesday to avoid visible unrest in offices."

"The layoffs come as Meta shifts its focus heavily toward artificial intelligence. The company plans to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion this year, with the majority of funds directed at AI infrastructure and model development. Meta had about 78,000 employees before this restructuring. Alongside the job cuts, 7,000 workers will be reassigned into new AI-native teams, while around 6,000 open roles have been closed."

"In an internal memo, Chief People Officer Janelle Gale explained: "We're now at the stage where many orgs can operate with a flatter structure with smaller teams of pods/cohorts that can move faster and with more ownership. We believe this will make us more productive and make the work more rewarding." Engineering and product teams are expected to be the hardest hit, with more cuts possible later this year."

"Meta has introduced employee-tracking software that records mouse movements and keystrokes, allegedly to train AI systems. Over 1,000 employees signed a petition opposing the move, fearing their work could be used to build systems that eventually replace them. That fear seems to have turned out to be true as a voice recording has appeared where Zuckerberg can be heard defending the use of employee-monitoring software as part of the company's broader AI push."

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