Meta, the technology giant behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, just dropped another round of layoffs, cutting around 3,600 jobs.
That’s about 5% of its global workforce, making this one of the company’s biggest staff cuts yet. What does it all mean? Let’s break it down.
When did the layoffs happen?
The layoffs started on February 10, 2025. US employees were being notified at 5 a.m. in their local time. For those in Europe, Asia, and Africa, your turn could be coming from February 11 to February 18. Except that if you are in Germany, France, Italy, or the Netherlands, you’re safe: the labor laws there will protect workers from such a sudden cut.
Who got cut?
Meta isn’t calling these layoffs; it’s branding them as “performance terminations.” In essence, the company is just getting rid of its lowest performers to keep operations lean and mean. If you had been underperforming, well, this was the time to shape up or ship out.
Meta’s AI Push Amid Layoffs
While Meta is letting some employees go, at the same time, it is on a hiring spree for a plethora of positions in machine learning and AI. Why? Because AI represents the future, and Meta wants to be on the very front lines of that. Indeed, between February 11th and March 13th, the company accelerated recruitment for AI engineers, proving that when one door closes, another opens.
Why Are Some Regions Exempt?
But if you live in Germany or France, you’re probably scratching your head, wondering why you still have a job when so many others around you are getting pink slips. The answer? Strict labor laws. Whereas in the U.S., employers can cut staff with a minimum of legal barriers, European labor protections prevent companies from pulling off mass layoffs in this manner.
Meta’s latest layoffs were part of a bigger plan to keep the company agile, focusing on high-performance employees, and making big bets on AI. As thousands lost their jobs, the company is still investing in what it sees as the future: artificial intelligence. If you are in tech, this is just another reminder that even the biggest companies are not immune to change.
For more information, read the latest from Reuters and CCN.
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