'Work from home today': Then Meta employees began getting layoff emails

There were no large internal meetings, no packed office floors and no warning signs visible to most employees. But within hours, inboxes across regions began filling with layoff emails.

The tech giant has started cutting nearly 8,000 jobs — around 10 per cent of its workforce — in what is shaping up to be one of its biggest restructuring exercises yet, driven largely by its aggressive push into artificial intelligence.

Layoff emails sent before sunrise

The first wave of layoffs was reported from Meta’s Singapore office, where employees reportedly received emails around 4 am local time, according to Bloomberg.

The notifications are being rolled out gradually across time zones, affecting teams in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Many employees interpreted the work-from-home instruction as a deliberate attempt to avoid emotional scenes and unrest inside offices while the cuts unfolded digitally behind closed screens.

Before the layoffs, Meta employed roughly 78,000 people globally.

Meta shrinks teams, doubles down on AI

As part of the restructuring, thousands of employees are being reassigned while several teams are being dissolved or merged.

In an internal note, Meta’s Chief People Officer Janelle Gale said around 7,000 employees would move into newly created AI-centric roles. Another 6,000 open positions have reportedly been eliminated altogether.

The company is also flattening management structures and reducing layers of supervision in an attempt to build smaller, faster-moving teams.

At the centre of the overhaul is CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s massive AI expansion strategy. Meta plans to spend as much as $145 billion this year, with a major portion earmarked for AI infrastructure and development.

Engineering and product divisions are expected to face the steepest cuts.

Inside Meta, fear had been building for weeks

The layoffs did not come entirely out of nowhere.

Reports suggest anxiety had already spread internally after details of the job cuts leaked weeks earlier.

Employees reportedly began preparing for the worst — some even collecting free office supplies and laptop accessories before the official announcements arrived.

At the same time, Meta faced criticism over reports that it was testing internal systems capable of monitoring mouse movements and keystrokes to train AI tools. The move triggered backlash from employees, with over 1,000 staff members reportedly signing a petition against the tracking system.

Tech industry faces deep AI-led shake-up

Meta’s job cuts are part of a much larger wave sweeping through the global technology industry.

Cisco Systems recently announced around 4,000 layoffs, while Microsoft, Amazon, Disney and ASML have also trimmed workforces or offered voluntary exits in recent months.

Earlier this year, Oracle Corporation reportedly laid off tens of thousands of employees through mass emails sent during overnight hours.

‘The old tech hiring model has collapsed’

Dipal Dutta, CEO of RedoQ, described the current wave of layoffs as a long-term structural transformation rather than a temporary slowdown.

According to him, generative AI and autonomous systems are rapidly replacing repetitive engineering and operational roles, forcing companies to rethink how they build teams.

“The traditional tech playbook predicated on scaling human capital to drive organisational growth has collapsed,” Dutta said.

He argued that companies are now prioritising professionals who can design and manage AI-driven systems rather than employees focused solely on routine execution tasks.