Tech Layoffs 2026: Why Did META Declare Work From Home, But Cut 8,000 Jobs? All About Severance Package

The woes of techies and engineers seem unbounded as Mark Zuckerberg's META declares yet another fresh wave of mass layoffs in just 24 hours. The irony is that there were no warnings or intense meetings; instead, employees were asked to work from home on May 20. As employees worked remotely, META dropped the bomb of laying off up to 10% of its total workforce. This is going to affect at least 8,000 jobs.

META Layoff Email

Roughly 10% of 8,000 employees are going to be impacted by the latest round of layoffs at Meta. As of now, Meta has a total workforce of 78,000 employees. Apart from this, META is reportedly planning to move over 7,000 employees to work on new initiatives related to artificial intelligence (AI).

In the fresh layoff, employees from USA, Europe and Singapore are impacted the most.

Earlier, in January, Meta removed 1,500 people.

The email obtained by Business Insider, said, "As previously shared, we have decided to reduce headcount as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we're making. Unfortunately, your role has been eliminated as part of today's reorganization. Before sharing additional details, we want to thank you for all you've contributed to Meta. We appreciate the important role you've played in the company's journey."

Mark Zuckerberg On Meta Layoff:

In a memo, Mark Zuckerberg expressed that he feels the weight of the laid off people. He said, "It's always sad to say good-bye to people who have contributed to our mission and to building this company."

"Success isn't a given. AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes," Adding he said, "The companies that lead the way will define the next generation."

META Employees Non-Working Notice Period

As part of its layoffs, Meta stated that the affected employees are in a nonworking notice period. During this period, the employees' internal access will be scrapped and no additional work will be allowed at Meta.

However, the employees affected will continue to receive PTI till the date of their termination. The rest of the PTO will be paid as part of the final package during the end of the period.

Also, any leaves of absence are scheduled to end on your termination date. However, affected employees can continue to avail themselves of disability benefits after separation if they meet the disability plan requirements of Meta.

The affected employees will receive 'Notice Pay,' and that will reflect in their payslips. This Notice Pay is the same as the salary per month.

Further, the email mentioned that the employees will continue to receive full salary and benefits through your Termination Date, along with any RSU grants that were vested on or before the Termination Date, depending upon the Equity Incentive Plan.

Alas, Meta is also offering external job search assistance via Lee Hecht Harrison ("LHH") to these employees.

META Severance Package:

According to the email obtained by Business Insider, these affected employees will get a severance payment of 16 weeks plus two weeks for every year of completed services, minus your notice period. Please see the cover sheet of the attached Separation Agreement for more details on this calculation.

Also, they will receive payment of COBRA (health insurance) premiums for you and your family (if they are dependents on your current plan) for 18 months.

Moreover, Meta has guided these employees to visit their Alumni Portal to understand the severance package and other procedures and offers regarding their layoff.

Tech Layoffs 2026:

Due to the strong surge in adoption of AI, hundreds and thousands of techies are impacted globally. As per TrueUp tracker, so far in 2026, there have been 329 layoffs at tech companies with 142,223 people impacted (1,009 people per day). In 2025, there were 783 layoffs at tech companies with 245,953 people impacted (674 people per day).

Some of the latest mega layoffs include Meta's 8,000 job cuts, followed by Intuit's 3,000 job cuts and Cognizant, which announced the layoff of 4,000 people last month. In 2026 so far, the biggest layoff is being carried by Oracle, who in March announced cutting 30,000 jobs, followed by DELL who decided to remove 11,000 people.