Recently accelerating its investments in artificial intelligence, Meta announced plans to lay off 8,000 employees, representing about 10% of its workforce. This strategic decision will significantly change the company's organizational structure.
Reduction of Workforce and New Employment Policy
The company stated that this process will begin on May 20 and that it will not hire for approximately 6,000 open positions, thereby slowing its growth rate while reducing the current number of employees. This situation signals a significant change in Meta's future direction.
To increase competition in the field of artificial intelligence, Meta is shifting its resources from metaverse projects to this new technology, downsizing some teams and merging certain units. With this restructuring, the company's organizational structure is being reshaped.
Transformation of Work Processes
Meta is not only reducing its workforce but also modernizing its business processes. It is preparing to transition to AI-based systems, particularly by reducing the use of outsourcing in areas such as content moderation. These changes indicate a shift from human-powered methods to automation.
Additionally, it is known that Meta's Reality Labs unit followed a similar path in January, laying off about 1,000 employees. This approach can be seen as part of a long-term transformation plan rather than a short-term downsizing.
Many technology companies worldwide are also taking similar steps to reshape their workforces. For example, Amazon has let go of more than 30,000 employees this year, while Oracle has made similar reductions. Microsoft has also started offering voluntary separation packages for senior employees.