Meta has outlined a sweeping workforce restructuring plan that will see major layoffs and internal reshuffles this week, as the company accelerates its push into artificial intelligence and flattens its organisational structure to speed up product development.
In an internal memo seen by Reuters, Meta Chief People Officer Janelle Gale said the company will proceed with global job reductions alongside a broader redesign of teams focused on AI workflows. The changes include moving around 7,000 employees into new AI-related initiatives while eliminating a range of managerial roles as part of what executives describe as a shift toward smaller, faster-moving teams.
The memo indicated that around 10% of Meta’s workforce will be affected in the immediate round of layoffs scheduled for tomorrow, with additional reductions expected later in the year. Some employees will be reassigned to newly created divisions, while others will receive formal termination notices. Staff in North America have been instructed to work remotely on the day of the announcements.
Meta, which had 77,986 employees at the end of March, has already closed about 6,000 open positions as part of the restructuring effort. Combined with transfers and layoffs, the total impact is expected to affect roughly one-fifth of its workforce.
The reorganisation is closely tied to Meta’s expanding focus on AI systems designed to perform tasks traditionally handled by human employees. New units such as Applied AI Engineering and the Agent Transformation Accelerator are central to this strategy, both aimed at building autonomous AI agents capable of carrying out workplace functions. Another unit, Central Analytics, will focus on measuring and improving AI-driven productivity tools, while details of an Enterprise Solutions division are expected to follow.
Meta executives say the overhaul reflects a broader effort to embed “AI-native” design principles into company operations, reducing hierarchy and enabling smaller “pod-like” teams to work with greater autonomy.
However, the restructuring has sparked internal resistance. Employees have circulated petitions opposing aspects of the plan, including the use of mouse-tracking software intended to help train AI systems by studying human-computer interaction. More than 1,000 staff members have signed the petition, raising concerns over privacy and workplace surveillance.
Tensions have also surfaced on Meta’s internal communication platform, where employees have openly challenged leadership over the lack of early communication about the layoffs. Some staff have used symbolic posts, including images of elephants, to highlight what they described as an unaddressed “elephant in the room” within the company.
A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the restructuring plan or employee reactions. The overhaul marks one of the company’s most significant organisational shifts in recent years as it doubles down on artificial intelligence as a core driver of future growth.
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