Why Meta Laid Off 8,000 Employees—and Why Some Workers Say the Culture Felt Like “Squid Game”

At the same time, the restructuring included moving roughly 7,000 employees into new AI‑focused teams, reflecting a strategic shift toward building AI capabilities across products and infrastructure.

This combination—layoffs, canceled hires, and reassignment—signaled that the company wasn’t simply shrinking. Instead, it was reallocating resources toward AI‑driven priorities.

The 4 A.M. Layoff Emails

Many employees learned they had lost their jobs through early‑morning emails sent on May 20. Reports indicate that notifications were distributed around 4 a.m. local time across regions, with some of the earliest messages arriving in Singapore.

The email informed employees that their roles had been eliminated as part of the reorganization. It also included instructions about the transition process and severance details.

In several cases, employees were told that if they were already in an office location, they should collect personal belongings and go home, as their employment had effectively ended.

Immediate Lockouts and the “Non‑Working Notice Period”

Alongside the emails, the company moved quickly to disable internal access.

Laid‑off workers were typically placed on a non‑working notice period, meaning they remained technically employed until a termination date but were not required—or allowed—to continue working.

During this period:

• Access badges and internal systems were deactivated.
• Employees were redirected to a company alumni or separation portal with details about benefits and next steps.
• Additional guidance covered immigration support, severance, and other transition resources.

This rapid shutdown of access is common in large corporate layoffs to protect internal systems and data, but the timing and scale of the notifications drew widespread attention.

Severance Packages for Affected Employees

Meta described its severance terms as generous compared with typical tech layoffs.

For U.S. employees, packages reportedly included:

• At least 16 weeks of base pay
• Two additional weeks of pay for each year of service
• Up to 18 months of COBRA health‑care coverage for employees and families

Severance structures outside the United States were expected to follow similar principles but vary depending on local labor laws and regulations.

The “Squid Game” Culture Criticism

After the layoffs, commentary from former employees drew attention to Meta’s internal performance culture.

One ex‑engineer, Jeremy Bernier, compared the company’s environment to the Netflix series “Squid Game,” saying employees often felt they were competing with colleagues to survive performance reviews.

His criticism centered on the company’s stack‑ranking approach to performance evaluation, where employees are assessed relative to peers rather than against a purely independent standard. Critics say such systems can create an “every‑person‑for‑themselves” atmosphere and constant anxiety about ranking outcomes.

Bernier argued that this competitive structure contributed to a culture in which employees felt pressure to constantly prove themselves while fearing layoffs or poor performance ratings.

How the Layoffs Fit Meta’s AI Pivot

Taken together, the layoffs, canceled hires, and reassignment of thousands of employees illustrate a broader shift inside Meta.

The company is attempting to redirect talent and spending toward AI development, while reducing staffing in areas considered less critical to that strategy.

In practical terms, the restructuring affected a much larger portion of the organization than the layoffs alone:

• ~8,000 roles eliminated
• ~7,000 employees reassigned to AI initiatives
• ~6,000 open roles canceled

That scale of change highlights how aggressively major tech companies are reorganizing around artificial intelligence—and how quickly those shifts can reshape their workforces.

A Restructuring That Reshaped the Company

The May 20 layoffs were not simply a cost‑cutting exercise. They were part of a broader organizational reset tied to Meta’s AI ambitions.

Employees experienced the change abruptly through early‑morning termination emails and immediate system lockouts, while remaining staff were moved into new roles aligned with the company’s AI strategy. At the same time, criticism from former workers highlighted ongoing debates about performance management and internal competition within large tech firms.

Together, those elements illustrate the human and organizational impact of the tech industry’s rapid pivot toward artificial intelligence.