Meta cuts 8,000 jobs in sweeping global layoffs

Key points

• Meta has launched a wave of layoffs that will affect 10 percent of the company’s global workforce, representing about 8,000 people.
• The cuts, which began on Wednesday, are planned to occur in three waves, beginning at 4am local time for those affected, the Reuters news agency reported.
• Workers affected so far include those on the company’s integrity team – the group in charge of removing malicious content and hate speech – as well as members of the company’s cybersecurity teams and content design division, according to reporting from Business Insider.
• Workers in the United States will receive 16 weeks of severance pay, in addition to an extra two weeks for every year they have been employed at the company, representatives for Meta confirmed to Al Jazeera.
• In addition to the cuts, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram said it would cancel plans to hire 6,000 people and shift...