Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, will initiate its expected company-wide layoffs next week while simultaneously speeding up the hiring of machine learning engineers. Internal memos, obtained by Reuters, said that the layoffs targeting the company’s “lowest performers” will begin at 5 am local time on Monday in most regions, including the US.
The layoff of employees will not be felt by workers in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands as those are restricted by local rules, while employees from other countries including Europe, Asia, and Africa will be informed from February 11 up to February 18.
A Meta spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the memos.
Meta, last month, announced it was cutting around 5% of its staff by referring to it as “performance terminations.” The company further indicated that some of the backfilled positions will be occupied. Notably, Meta is not closing its offices on Monday, and the firm will not update on further layoffs, according to the memo sent by Janelle Gale, Meta’s Head of People.
In a separate memo, Meta VP of Engineering for Monetization Peng Fan pointed out that the staff needs to be available for an accelerated hiring process for machine learning engineers and other key engineering positions scheduled for February 11 through March 13. The memo ended with appreciation from the staff for supporting Meta in its hiring efforts and getting back on track with 2025 goals.