在 Meta 最新一轮大规模裁员前夕，员工正赶著在福利消失前把它们用掉，包括每年 2,000 美元的弹性津贴，以及另外一笔每 3 年 200 美元的音讯补助，可用于 Apple AirPods 和其他耳机等商品。几名员工告诉 WIRED，本周办公室异常空荡，大家都在忙著更新履历、私下聚会，以及为自己可能作为同事的最后几天做准备；士气被形容为「瘫痪」、「混日子」和「恐慌」。
Meta 计划在周三裁减约 10% 的近 80,000 名员工，通知将依所在地于新加坡、伦敦或旧金山当地时间凌晨 4 点发出。执行长 Mark Zuckerberg 表示，公司需要释出现金用于 AI 资料中心，并认为 AI 工具将让 Meta 以更少的人力运作；而公司未立即回应。这波裁员发生在自 2022 年以来 3 轮主要裁员之后，包括 2023 年的「效率年」，而且是在创纪录获利之后。
裁员与重组也与更广泛的内部转变有关：根据 Reuters 和 WIRED 的确认，Meta 计划把 7,000 名剩余员工转到「AI initiatives」，并让更多经理转任个人贡献者角色，使受裁员或职务变动影响的总人数达到当前员工总数的 20%。员工也在回应被不经选择地调去 AI 团队，以及新的监控软体会追踪笔电使用情况以训练 AI 模型，这些都加剧了对 AI 影响工作的普遍焦虑。公司部分部门表示不会受影响，但员工仍在保存薪资单和绩效评估，并在周三裁员前聚到酒吧和餐厅等公司外场所。
Ahead of Meta's latest round of mass layoffs, employees are rushing to spend benefits before they disappear, including an annual $2,000 flexible stipend and a separate $200 triennial audio credit for items like Apple AirPods and other headphones. Several workers told WIRED that offices have been unusually empty this week as people focus on résumés, private meetups, and preparing for what may be their final days as colleagues, with morale described as “paralyzed,” “coasting,” and “panicked.”
Meta plans to cut about 10 percent of its nearly 80,000 employees on Wednesday, with notices sent at 4 am local time in Singapore, London, or San Francisco depending on location. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company needs to free cash for AI data centers and believes AI tools will let Meta operate with fewer people, while the company did not immediately comment. The cuts come after 3 prior major layoff rounds since 2022, including the 2023 “year of efficiency,” and despite record-high profits.
The layoffs and restructuring are also tied to a broader internal shift: Meta plans to transfer 7,000 remaining staff to “AI initiatives” and move more managers into individual contributor roles, bringing the total number affected by layoffs or role changes to 20 percent of the current workforce, according to Reuters and WIRED's confirmation. Employees are also reacting to being reassigned to AI teams without choice and to new surveillance software that tracks laptop use to train AI models, adding to widespread anxiety about AI's effect on jobs. Some parts of the company say they will not be affected, but workers are still saving pay stubs and performance reviews, and gathering offsite at bars and restaurants before Wednesday's cuts.