A fresh round of layoffs is looming at Meta.
Reuters reports that the company is preparing a first wave of layoffs on May 20 that could cut about 8,000 jobs. The layoffs are expected to be the first in a broader round of reductions planned for later this year. They also come alongside an internal reshuffle, with staff moves and team changes already underway as Meta reworks parts of the company.
One layoff date, bigger changes behind it
With the first round set to affect about 10% of Meta’s workforce, the shape of what follows is still in flux. The next rounds have not been locked in, and the plan could still shift as the company weighs how far AI can take over work that once required larger teams.
Not everyone caught in the overhaul is necessarily heading for the exit. Some employees are instead being redirected into Meta Small Business, a newer unit that shows this reset is also about where the company wants people to be.
Meta did not comment on the reported timing or scale of the layoffs.
The May round follows earlier cuts
The reported May 20 layoffs would not be Meta’s first recent cuts, but they would be its biggest by far. Smaller reductions had already hit the company before this much larger round came into view.
In October 2025, Meta laid off about 600 employees in its AI organization during a leadership and operational reorganization. Then, in March 2026, the company cut several hundred more jobs across teams, including Facebook, recruiting, sales, and Reality Labs.
After months of narrower cuts, Meta now appears to be preparing a much bigger reduction.
Meta’s year of efficiency still sets the benchmark
Reuters says the planned layoffs would be Meta’s largest since the company’s 2022–2023 “year of efficiency,” when about 21,000 jobs were eliminated. That earlier round remains the strongest point of comparison for judging the size of the cuts now for next month.
That restructuring unfolded as the social media giant sought to recover from pandemic-era overexpansion and a falling stock price. The setting is different now, but the scale still stands out: when Meta cuts at this level, the comparison is not a routine headcount reduction, but one of the biggest layoff rounds in the company’s recent history.
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Tech’s layoff drumbeat is still getting louder
Meta is not alone. In March, Atlassian said it would cut about 1,600 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, as it redirected spending toward AI and enterprise sales. Earlier this month, Snap moved to cut about 1,000 jobs, or 16% of its full-time staff, with CEO Evan Spiegel pointing to “rapid advancements” in AI and saying smaller teams could move faster.
Across the sector, companies are trimming headcount while saying the savings will help pay for AI, automation, and leaner operations.
Disney is cutting 1,000 jobs as it aligns more of its future around technology, efficiency, and scale.