Meta employees across Asia, including workers in Malaysia and Singapore, were among the first to receive layoff notifications Wednesday morning as Meta Platforms accelerated a major global restructuring tied to its expanding artificial intelligence investments.According to reports reviewed by Bloomberg, employees in the region received notices as early as 4 a.m. Singapore time, marking the beginning of a broader round of global workforce reductions expected to affect roughly 8,000 roles worldwide.
The latest cuts form part of Meta’s wider organisational overhaul aimed at reducing costs, flattening management structures and reallocating resources towards AI-focused teams and infrastructure.
The company has not disclosed how many roles were affected specifically across Southeast Asia or Malaysia. However, the restructuring is expected to impact engineering and product teams heavily across multiple international markets.In an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg, Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg told employees the company did “not expect other company-wide layoffs this year,” while acknowledging the need for better internal communication around the restructuring process.
“This is the most dynamic I have seen our industry,” Zuckerberg reportedly wrote, adding that Meta was transforming itself to remain competitive in the race towards advanced AI and “superintelligence.”
The layoffs come as Meta intensifies spending on AI infrastructure, systems and products in an effort to compete more aggressively with rivals including OpenAI and Google.Earlier this week, the company also informed staff that around 7,000 employees would be reassigned internally to newly created AI-focused units working on AI agents, automation and enterprise productivity initiatives.
Meta had just under 80,000 employees globally as of March 2026 before the latest restructuring measures.
According to an earlier internal memo from Meta’s Head of People Janelle Gale, the company is redesigning teams into smaller and flatter operational structures intended to move faster and increase accountability.
“We believe this will make us more productive and make the work more rewarding,” Gale said in the memo reviewed by Bloomberg.The restructuring reflects a broader trend across the global technology sector, where companies are increasingly redirecting investment towards AI capabilities while simultaneously reducing headcount in traditional operational and managerial roles.
The changes have also triggered growing employee concerns around job security, workplace surveillance and the expanding use of AI internally.
According to Bloomberg, more than 1,000 Meta employees have reportedly signed an internal petition objecting to plans involving device-level employee data collection intended to improve AI training systems. Workers have also expressed concerns publicly about declining morale and ongoing uncertainty linked to repeated restructuring cycles.
The company’s aggressive AI spending strategy has additionally raised concerns among investors.
Meta is expected to spend as much as $145 billion on AI-related capital expenditure this year alone, with analysts estimating that the current layoffs would generate only a fraction of the projected costs tied to the company’s long-term AI ambitions.
The restructuring marks another major workforce shift at Meta as technology companies globally continue balancing cost pressures, investor expectations and rapidly accelerating AI transformation strategies.