Fired Meta Employees Told To ‘Collect Belongings And Leave’ In Final Email

Thousands of employees at Meta learned their fate before sunrise on Wednesday, when a company email informed them their jobs had been eliminated as part of a sweeping restructuring tied to the tech giant’s growing focus on artificial intelligence.

“Unfortunately, your role has been eliminated as part of today’s reorganisation,” the email read. For employees who had already arrived at office campuses, the message added another instruction that quickly became the defining line of the layoffs: “Please gather any personal items at your desk and head home.”

The email, obtained by Business Insider, was sent around 4 am as Meta began cutting nearly 8,000 jobs — about 10 per cent of its workforce — while simultaneously redeploying more than 7,000 employees into AI-focused divisions.

The layoffs represent Meta’s largest company-wide restructuring since CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched the company’s “Year of Efficiency” initiative in 2022 and 2023, which saw roughly 21,000 positions eliminated.

This latest round of cuts comes as Meta dramatically increases spending on AI infrastructure and computing power. The company has forecast annual capital expenditure of up to $145 billion as it races to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities and compete with rivals in the next phase of the tech industry’s evolution.

The termination email laid out the process in careful corporate language. Employees were told their office badges and access to Meta’s internal systems would be disabled, after which they would be redirected to the company’s Alumni Portal for details regarding severance pay, immigration support, healthcare coverage, and job placement services.

“Your impact at Meta has been an important part of our story,” the company wrote in the message.

In a separate memo to remaining staff, Zuckerberg acknowledged the emotional impact of the decision.

“It’s always sad to say goodbye to people who have contributed to our mission and to building this company,” he wrote, according to Business Insider. “I feel the weight of that.” At the same time, he framed the restructuring as part of Meta’s long-term AI ambitions, describing the company as one of the few capable of shaping the future of “personal superintelligence”.

Affected employees were offered severance packages that include 16 weeks of base salary, plus an additional two weeks for every completed year at the company. Meta also said it would continue paying health insurance premiums for employees and their families for up to 18 months.

The company promised continued vesting of eligible stock grants, payout of unused paid leave, and three months of career-transition support through external recruitment firm Lee Hecht Harrison. The uncertainty is particularly acute for foreign workers dependent on employer-sponsored visas. Meta said immigration guidance and legal assistance would be available through its Alumni Portal for employees affected by the cuts.

One detail in the email drew widespread attention because of its stark tone. Employees had earlier been advised to work remotely on the day the layoffs began. But those who still came into the office were told simply to collect their belongings and leave the premises.

The restructuring affects a major portion of Meta’s workforce. With around 78,000 employees globally as of March, the combination of layoffs and internal AI-related reshuffling means nearly one in five workers at the company is being impacted in some form.

The move underscores how aggressively major technology companies are reorganising themselves around artificial intelligence — even as that transition reshapes careers and eliminates thousands of jobs worldwide.