Meta is set to lay off 3,000 employees across Africa, Europe, and Asia, starting today, Monday, February 10, 2024. The company has confirmed it will begin notifying affected staff, with notices rolling out from 5 a.m. local time in many countries. While employees in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands will remain unaffected due to strict local labor laws, workers in other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa could face uncertainty over the coming days, with the layoffs expected to extend through February 18.
The latest round of cuts comes as part of Meta’s ongoing effort to streamline its workforce, with the company specifically targeting its “lowest performers.” According to an internal memo obtained by Reuters, Janelle Gale, Meta’s Head of People, referred to these reductions as “performance terminations,” signalling a shift from the broad, sweeping layoffs that defined earlier rounds. This time, Meta is avoiding major office closures or public announcements in an effort to downplay the impact.
Though Meta is letting go of a significant number of employees, it is simultaneously ramping up hiring in key areas, especially machine learning engineers and other essential engineering roles. Peng Fan, VP of Engineering for Monetization, sent out a separate memo urging staff to expedite hiring between February 11 and March 13, making it clear that AI-focused roles will be a top priority moving forward.
In Africa, Meta’s downsizing has been particularly noticeable in Nigeria. Last June, the company quietly reduced its office space in Lagos after laying off at least 35 employees, including its entire Nigerian engineering team. While the company initially described this as part of a routine real estate review, it now seems more like a strategic retrenchment from local operations. Though it’s still unclear how many Nigerians will be impacted by this latest round of layoffs, the trend suggests that the region is once again facing significant job cuts.
Meta’s focus on AI as its main growth driver for 2025 highlights the company’s pivot toward more automated, data-driven operations. As layoffs and hiring efforts collide, the shifting landscape at Meta continues to raise questions about the future of its workforce, particularly in regions like Africa, where the company’s presence is shrinking.
For many employees, especially those in Africa, the uncertainty surrounding these layoffs underscores a larger, ongoing trend of contraction that could signal a long-term reduction in Meta’s commitment to the region. The coming weeks may provide more clarity on how deeply the cuts will affect operations in Africa, as well as the future of Meta’s local workforce.
