Meta Cuts 700 More Jobs While Rewarding Top Execs with Performance Stock Options.
According to a report by The New York Times, Meta is implementing a new round of layoffs, affecting approximately 700 employees. The cuts span several key departments, including the Reality Labs (Metaverse division), Facebook, Recruiting, and Sales.
Organizational Restructuring
A spokesperson for Meta confirmed the news, stating that the company continuously evolves its workforce to align with long-term business objectives. "Realigning our teams is part of our ongoing effort to ensure we are operating efficiently," the spokesperson noted, adding that Meta will attempt to find alternative roles within the company for affected employees where possible.
The Executive Retention Contrast
The timing of these layoffs has drawn significant attention as it coincides with a major stock option incentive for six of Meta's top executives. Designed to retain high-level talent, the performance-based stock rewards were granted to:
Andrew Bosworth (CTO)
Chris Cox (CPO)
Susan Li (CFO)
Javier Olivan (COO)
Dina Powell McCormick (Company President)
C.J. Mahoney (Chief Legal Officer)
The continued layoffs in Reality Labs in 2026 reflect Meta's strategy of "streamlining" unprofitable Metaverse-related projects to shift budget towards generative AI and smart glasses (such as Ray-Ban Meta), which are currently performing better and showing clearer profitability.
It's noticeable that Meta is employing a "balancing" strategy: cutting operational staff (middle management and staff) to reduce costs while simultaneously investing heavily in retaining top executives. This strategy is often used when companies need "leadership stability" amidst rapid technological transformation.
The layoffs in the recruitment department clearly signal Meta's beginning to use AI-powered autonomous recruitment systems to manage the initial hiring process instead of humans—a major trend among big tech companies to reduce fixed costs.
Even though Wall Street investors have welcomed the "Year of Efficiency" policy for several years, this remains a significant development. (Which is positive for the stock price) However, providing stock options to executives while laying off employees could negatively impact morale within the organization, posing a long-term challenge to Meta's work culture.
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Source: The New York Times

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