Meta prepares for layoffs

Meta is to commence company-wide layoffs while expediting the hiring of machine learning engineers, the Facebook parent company told employees in internal memos seen by Reuters on Friday. The process is set to start today in most countries, including the U.S. According to one of the posts, authored by Meta’s head of people Janelle Gale, employees in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands would be exempt “due to local regulations.” Those in more than a dozen other countries throughout Europe, Asia and Africa will receive their notifications between February 11 and February 18, the company said. Meanwhile, a separate memo posted by VP of Engineering for Monetization Peng Fan asked staff to assist with a fast-tracked hiring process for machine learning engineers and other “business critical” engineering roles.