Meta says no repeat of last year’s ‘low performer’ job cuts

Meta

• Meta denies plans for new performance-based layoffs company-wide
• Recent job cuts are isolated, not part of a broader initiative
• Reality Labs layoffs due to restructuring, not performance reviews

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Meta has denied plans for a new wave of performance-based layoffs, saying recent job changes are isolated cases rather than part of any company-wide initiative.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Meta spokesperson said the company is not repeating last year’s approach, when it cut roughly 5% of its workforce based on performance ratings. “These are individual cases not related to any company wide initiatives,” the spokesperson said, adding: “For example we are not doing any 5% low performers like we did last year.”

The clarification follows a burst of online chatter questioning whether Meta was restarting its performance-driven cuts in a quieter form. Those concerns were fuelled in part by Meta’s own messaging in early 2025. At the time, Business Insider reported that an internal FAQ suggested performance-based reductions could become a recurring practice, with the company saying it “may use future performance cycles” to move out its lowest performers.

That language marked a sharp shift from Meta’s earlier approach to layoffs, which were typically framed around efficiency drives or strategic realignment. In early 2025, the company explicitly said it was targeting its lowest-performing employees as part of a broader reset.

While Meta is now drawing a clear line under that strategy, it continues to restructure other parts of the business. Last month, the company cut around 10% of its Reality Labs division, affecting more than 1,000 employees. Those reductions were tied to changes in priorities and spending within the unit, rather than performance reviews, according to previous reporting.

For employees and investors alike, Meta’s latest comments appear designed to calm nerves after a turbulent period of cost-cutting and internal change. While restructuring is ongoing in specific teams, the company is signalling that last year’s performance-based purge is not becoming a standing annual ritual.