Meta begins laying off employees in WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs departments

Meta has begun laying off employees in the WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs divisions, according to informed sources. They indicated that the layoffs are not company-wide, but rather part of a reorganization of some teams.

Some of the affected employees have shared news of their layoffs online, including Jane Manson and Wong, who was known for leaking features of new applications before joining the Threads team in 2023.

Meta spokesperson Dave Arnold said, “Some teams at Meta are making changes today to ensure resource alignment with long-term goals.” He added that the changes involve moving some teams to new locations and changing the roles of some employees, while trying to find alternative opportunities for those affected employees.

This latest round of layoffs comes after previous layoffs in the Reality Labs department earlier this year. Meta laid off 11,000 employees in 2022 following unrealistic growth expectations after the COVID-19 pandemic, and then announced another 10,000 layoffs in 2023 as part of Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to increase efficiency.