1,400 Seattle residents lose Meta jobs amid layoffs

Name: Tech layoffs ripple through Seattle as experts weigh recession vs. transition
Uploaded: 2026-05-26T12:54:24-07:00
Description: As tech layoffs continue across the Puget Sound region, local businesses that rely on tech workers are feeling the impact, while experts say the industry may be shifting rather than collapsing.

SEATTLE - Hundreds of people in Seattle and Bellevue are out of a job as their employer, Meta, Facebook's parent company, reportedly looks for ways to offset AI investments. The employees were informed of the layoffs in the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend. The company previously laid off 331 Washington employees around January, and more than 100 in the week before Christmas 2025.

Meta announced 1,395 layoffs in the Seattle area on May 20. This represents about 20% of the total workforce for the company in the Evergreen State. A report from GeekWire reveals that Meta is planning to spend $145 billion on capital expenditures this year, including heavy investments into AI infrastructure.

By the numbers:

The layoffs include workers in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond and other parts of the state. Technical writers, data scientists, marketing teams, software engineers, hardware engineers, and more.

215 affected employees from 1101 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
44 affected employees from 1531 Utah Avenue S, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98134
699 affected employees from 1550 121st Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005
206 affected employees from 9845 Willows Road NE, Redmond, WA 98052
231 affected remote employees living in other areas of Washington

These workers are expected to have their last day by July 22, 2026, according to Meta Chief People Officer Janelle Gale.

What they're saying:

"We're doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we're making. This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here," said Gale, according to a report from NPR in April.

Tech layoffs ripple through Seattle as experts weigh recession vs. transition

As tech layoffs continue across the Puget Sound region, local businesses that rely on tech workers are feeling the impact, while experts say the industry may be shifting rather than collapsing.

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