It is unclear how many people will be affected by the layoffs, but in September 2024, Meta employed around 72,000 people, so a 5% reduction could reduce staff by roughly 3,600 jobs, Bloomberg reported.
Hiring replacements for laid-off employees could take until mid-March
A separate internal memo, posted by Meta's VP of Engineering for Monetization Peng Fan on Friday, asked employees to assist with the hiring process for machine learning engineers and other "business critical engineering roles," Reuters reported. This process would begin on Feb. 11 and last until March 13, Fan said, per the outlet.