The prospect of further layoffs has heightened anxiety among Meta workers already affected by recent workforce reductions. In the fresh layoff, employees from the USA, Europe and Singapore are impacted the most.
Earlier, in January, Meta removed 1,500 people. As part of its layoffs, Meta stated that the affected employees are on a nonworking notice period. During this period, the employees' internal access will be scrapped and no additional work will be allowed at Meta.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in an internal memo on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) that he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year, reports news agency Reuters. The tech billionaire's remarks came after the company announced a new round of global cuts, with about 10% of its workforce being affected in the first major wave. At the same time, the company said that around 7,000 employees would be moved to new AI-focused initiatives.
"I want to be clear that we do not expect other company-wide layoffs this year. I also want to acknowledge that we haven't been as clear as we aspire to be in our communication, and that's one area I want to make sure we improve," he said in the memo.
Ex-employees of the company who were recently laid off warned of more layoffs. There were reports that Meta is planning another round of layoffs in August this year.
A former Meta employee has claimed that more layoffs could hit the company in the coming months, even after the CEO reportedly suggested that the latest round of job cuts was the last major one for the year.
Brittany Pierson, a Dallas-based content designer who worked at Meta for more than four years, said she surprisingly felt “relieved” after losing her job. According to her, she had already been expecting her role to eventually disappear as artificial intelligence continues to reshape the tech industry.
“If you survive, then you need to start training yourself on an entirely new role that AI can’t replace, all while mentally preparing yourself for the next layoff, which, by the way, is rumored to be happening in August,” Pierson said on Instagram. “That’s not normal. It’s not healthy,” she added in the two-minute video.
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A Meta employee affected by Wednesday’s layoffs told the New York Times that the company will likely do a “performance-based” round of layoffs later this year, “so they can label it as not a mass layoff.” Asked about Mark Zuckerberg’s reputation internally, the worker didn’t mince words.
“In the past, if you got laid off from Meta, you could go and jump to another company like Google, Amazon or these other big tech companies,” the worker added.
The employee also described mounting internal pressure to incorporate Meta’s in-house AI tools into day-to-day work.