Meta Layoffs 2026: Employees Packed Free Snacks, Drinks and Chargers Ahead of 8,000 Job Cuts, Ex-Worker Recalls ‘Doomsday’ Mood

A former Meta employee has described the atmosphere inside the social media giant as "almost like doomsday" on the eve of major redundancy announcements. Adel Wu, who witnessed multiple rounds of job cuts during her final year at the company, shared her experiences on social media, recalling how anxious workers stuffed their bags with free snacks, drinks, and chargers before the company's first major downsizing. The revelations come as Meta prepares to eliminate approximately 8,000 roles, representing 10 per cent of its global workforce, on May 20.

Corporate Restructuring and Low Employee Morale

The upcoming job cuts follow an internal memo sent by Meta’s chief people officer, Janelle Gale, which confirmed that the company is reducing its headcount to run more efficiently. This round adds to the 25,000 positions Meta has erased over the past four years. According to internal sources, morale within the company has reached historic lows, with staff experiencing high levels of anxiety and resentment. Amazon Layoffs Continue in 2026: Tech Giant Announces Fresh Wave of Job Cuts Driven by Massive AI Investments.

Meta's Former Employee Recalls Doomsday at Company During Layoffs 

Wu noted that many current employees are caught in a state of unsettling ambiguity as they await their notifications. She stated that some of her peers are waiting in hope of being laid off due to the severance packages, while others are extremely anxious because their position serves as their financial lifeline.

Artificial Intelligence Spending Overriding Human Resources

The strategic shift at Meta highlights a broader pattern across the technology sector, where funding is being aggressively redirected from human personnel into artificial intelligence infrastructure. Meta expects its capital expenditure to reach a record $125 billion to $145 billion this year to build data centres and develop advanced models. Chief financial officer Susan Li previously indicated that infrastructure expense growth necessitates a leaner operating model.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has stated that AI tools are fundamentally changing product development, allowing smaller teams or even individuals to build projects in a week that previously required dozens of engineers. While leadership argues that AI is intended to amplify human productivity rather than fully replace it, the structural changes have resulted in significantly flattened team frameworks.

Severance Packages and Surveillance Apprehension

Impacted employees in the United States are expected to receive a severance package consisting of 16 weeks of base pay, plus an additional two weeks for every year of service, alongside 18 months of paid healthcare coverage. Despite these provisions, internal friction has been worsened by the deployment of workplace surveillance software. Oracle Layoffs: Company Revokes Offer Letters at IITs and NITs, Retracts Campus Placements and Internships After Job Cuts.

The software tracks keystrokes and screenshots to train internal AI models, a practice that has prompted workers to distribute protest flyers at corporate offices. With further restructuring expected in the second half of the year, industry analysts suggest the tech sector is entering a permanent transformation regarding how corporate workforces are managed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 17, 2026 08:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).