Meta has initiated a wave of layoffs affecting 10% of its global workforce, approximately 8,000 people. The cuts are being implemented in three waves, starting Wednesday at 4 a.m. local time for affected employees, according to Reuters.

Affected workers include those on the integrity team responsible for removing malicious content and hate speech, as well as cybersecurity teams and the content design division, Business Insider reported.

Meta representatives confirmed to Al Jazeera that U.S. employees will receive 16 weeks of severance pay, plus an additional two weeks for each year of service.

In addition to the layoffs, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram has canceled plans to hire 6,000 people and is shifting 7,000 employees into AI-related roles.

The Wall Street Journal reported declining morale at the company following the launch of an AI tracking program for workers to train Meta's AI models. Over 1,500 people signed a petition demanding the company not collect their data.

An unnamed policy employee told Wired that morale is low partly because the U.S. workforce is “being used to train the AI models that will replace them.” Concerns also include cuts to annual raises and a drop in median total compensation by nearly $30,000.

Mark Zuckerberg, the world’s sixth-richest person per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, continues to invest heavily, but spending is focused on AI development, including the Meta Superintelligence initiative. Capital expenditures are forecast at $125–145 billion for the year, more than double since 2025.

A Goldman Sachs survey found AI-driven layoffs account for over 16,000 payroll cuts per month this year. Tech giant Cisco also announced it is cutting about 4,000 workers. Meta shares were up 0.1% in midday trading.

Source: www.aljazeera.com