Meta says it will lay off 10% of its workforce starting in May

Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and other sites, has announced plans to lay off nearly 80,000 employees around the world, news reports said.

“Over the last few weeks we have been working on some changes to our organization that will result in us laying off around 10% of the company on May 20, and closing about 6,000 open roles,” a memo to employees said, according to Business Insider.

The layoffs follow previous job reductions at the company, which is based in Menlo Park, California, CNBC reported.

In the memo from chief people officer Janella Gale posted by Business Insider, the company said the layoffs are part of a “continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making.”

The memo said employees who are laid off will receive a “generous” severance package of 16 weeks pay plus two weeks for every year of employment in the U.S. The company also will cover COBRA health-care payments for 18 months.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed the accuracy of the memo to NPR.

The company also owns WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads.

The company was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes.

This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Meta says it will lay off 10% of its workforce starting in May."