Meta lays off employees at WhatsApp and Instagram to align with “strategic goals”.

Meta says it has laid off some employees, including those at WhatsApp and Instagram, to align its resources with its “strategic goals.”

A Meta spokesperson confirmed in a statement that some teams are making changes to align with their long-term goals and location strategy. Specific information on the number of employees affected was not disclosed.

“This includes moving some teams to other locations and moving some employees to other roles,” Meta said in a statement. “In situations like this where a position is eliminated, we work hard to find other options for the affected employees.”

The Verge, which first reported the layoffs, said cuts had been made across teams, which include messaging services WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as Reality Labs, Meta's virtual reality technology unit.

Those affected included Jane Manchun Wong, a software engineer known for discovering unreleased features in popular social media apps before joining Meta in 2023.

Meta endured several rounds of layoffs to adjust its workforce after the company hired aggressively during the pandemic. Earlier this year, Reality Labs cut several jobs after laying off 11,000 employees in 2022. Another 10,000 jobs were cut last year as CEO Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 a “year of efficiency.”

“I'm still trying to process this, but I've been informed that my role in Meta has been compromised,” Wong wrote in a public Threads post.