MENLO PARK, CA – Meta has confirmed that it has laid off employees, including staff from WhatsApp, Instagram, and its virtual reality division, Reality Labs, as part of an effort to realign resources with its long-term strategic goals.
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In a statement, a Meta spokesperson explained that the company is making adjustments to better align its teams with their strategic goals and location strategy. While specific details regarding the number of affected employees were not provided, the spokesperson emphasized that these changes include moving certain teams to different locations and reassigning some employees to new roles.
“In situations like this, when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees,” the company stated.
The Verge first reported on the layoffs, which affected employees across several teams, including messaging platform WhatsApp, photo-sharing app Instagram, and the Reality Labs unit responsible for Meta’s virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.
Among those impacted was Jane Manchun Wong, a software engineer recognized for uncovering unreleased features in popular social media apps. Wong had joined Meta in 2023 and announced her role had been affected by the layoffs in a post on Threads.
“I’m still trying to process this but I’m informed that my role at Meta has been impacted,” Wong wrote in her public statement.
Meta has been undergoing multiple rounds of layoffs to streamline its workforce following aggressive hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the company made cuts within Reality Labs, following a major round of layoffs in 2022, when Meta let go of 11,000 employees. In 2023, the company reduced its workforce by another 10,000 jobs as part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s declared “year of efficiency.”
As Meta continues to reshape its business, these adjustments reflect the tech giant’s evolving priorities in its pursuit of long-term growth and innovation.
