Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.
New filings reveal that thousands of Bay Area employees are among the latest casualties of Meta’s workforce reduction, part of a companywide 10% layoff announced last week that is expected to impact roughly 8,000 employees globally.
Three WARN notices released Thursday show the cuts are broader than initially understood, with engineers bearing the brunt of the layoffs as Meta accelerates its push into artificial intelligence. The filings indicate that 2,212 employees at Meta’s Menlo Park headquarters, 313 workers at its Sunnyvale office, and 74 employees at its Playa Vista location in Los Angeles County will be affected.
The largest concentration of layoffs appears to be among software engineers supporting Meta’s flagship platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Teams working on business-focused AI initiatives, such as BizAI and Core Ads, were among those significantly reduced. Other affected roles ranged from technical positions to support staff, including several jobs within the company’s culinary services team.
In Burlingame, Meta continues to scale back its Reality Labs division, which develops virtual reality and wearable technologies. The company announced in April that it would be “right-sizing” the unit amid sluggish growth in the VR market and years of multibillion-dollar losses.
According to the WARN filings, employees were notified on May 20 and are expected to separate from the company by July 22. Severance packages will include 16 weeks of base pay, plus an additional two weeks for every year of service, Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton said.
“The changes we are implementing vary by team and include layoffs, open role closures, and moving thousands of employees to business-critical priorities across the company,” Clayton said.
In a memo to employees last week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the cuts are intended to better position Meta in the race to develop advanced AI systems and bring what he described as “superintelligence” to consumers. He acknowledged that the company has made mistakes in previous restructuring efforts and has not always communicated its intentions clearly.
While Zuckerberg said he does not anticipate additional companywide layoffs this year, he stopped short of making a firm commitment. The latest reduction marks Meta’s third major round of cuts in 2026, following layoffs affecting more than 1,000 employees in January and roughly 700 in March.
Despite the ongoing restructuring, Zuckerberg expressed confidence in Meta’s long-term prospects, emphasizing the high stakes of the AI race.
“AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes,” he wrote. “The companies that lead the way will define the next generation.”