Meta just filed paperwork to cut 1,395 jobs across King County, Washington, with separations set to begin on July 22, 2026. The filing, a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) submitted to Washington’s Employment Security Department, lays out exactly where the axe is falling: 699 positions at the Bellevue office, 259 across two Seattle offices, 206 in Redmond, and 231 remote workers scattered throughout the state.
This isn’t a one-off. It’s the latest chapter in a company-wide restructuring that has already displaced roughly 8,000 employees globally. That figure represents about 10% of Meta’s total workforce, and the cuts started rolling on May 20, 2026.
The bigger picture: a year of layoffs
The King County reductions land on top of an already rough year for Meta employees. Back in January 2026, the company slashed approximately 1,500 jobs from its Reality Labs division, the unit responsible for metaverse development and virtual and augmented reality hardware. That amounted to somewhere between 10% and 15% of Reality Labs’ headcount.
Then in March, another 168 positions in King County were eliminated as part of ongoing reductions. The July cuts dwarf that figure by a factor of eight.
Washington State is feeling the impact of these layoffs most acutely. Meta’s total employee presence in the Puget Sound region is estimated between 7,500 and 8,000, meaning King County has now absorbed multiple rounds of cuts in a matter of months.
Why this is happening: the AI reallocation
Meta is reallocating resources toward artificial intelligence. The restructuring appears designed to shift resources away from slower-growth areas, including parts of the Reality Labs division, and toward AI development. The Reality Labs cuts in January were the clearest signal: reducing 10–15% of a division that was once CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s signature bet reflects a clear shift in the resource hierarchy. Meta is also reallocating existing staff to roles that better align with its AI strategic priorities, not only conducting outright layoffs.
Industry analysts suggest these layoffs are indicative of a broader trend within the tech sector, emphasizing the use of AI to streamline operations amid growing infrastructure costs.