DUBLIN, Ireland: Meta has told its employees in Ireland that some jobs are being cut as part of a plan to reduce about 8,000 jobs worldwide.

The company started informing workers globally on the morning of May 20. These cuts are part of a restructuring plan to lower costs while spending heavily on artificial intelligence.

Reports say around 350 jobs in Ireland will be affected. Meta has about 1,800 employees there, and those impacted have already been told their roles are being removed. The company has also informed Ireland's Department of Enterprise, as required by law.

Employees around the world were asked to work from home while the layoffs were carried out.

This round of cuts is expected to affect engineering and product teams mainly. Sources say more layoffs could happen later this year.

The Financial Services Union (FSU), which represents some Meta staff, warned that the industry is entering a "dangerous stage," in which the use of AI is outpacing the development of proper rules and training. It said companies are introducing AI without providing workers with sufficient training or oversight, and called for better cooperation among unions, employers, and regulators to manage these changes.

Earlier in the week, Meta also reassigned about 7,000 employees to new teams focused on AI projects, including developing products and AI agents.

The company is investing over US$100 billion in AI this year and had just under 80,000 employees at the end of March, before these changes.