KING COUNTY, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
Meta Platforms announced Tuesday it is laying off 168 King County employees as part of a plan to cut 10% of its Reality Labs division.
Meta will lay off employees in two Seattle offices, along with its Bellevue office, Redmond office, and nearly 40 remote employees, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.
Software engineers, recruiters among those affected in latest round of Meta layoffs
The layoffs are scheduled to take effect on May 8 and will span a wide variety of Meta departments.
The following Meta locations include the number of employees to be laid off per site:
- 1101 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 (approximately 43 affected employees).
- 1531 Utah Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98134 (approximately 10 affected employees).
- 1550 121st Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005 (approximately 9 affected employees).
- 9845 Willows Road NE, Redmond, WA 98052 (approximately 67 affected employees).
- Approximately 39 remote employees who reside in Washington.
The vast majority of the impacted Meta positions include software engineering and recruiting, though other descriptions are listed, like product and design management, data science, and several other managerial positions.
All impacted employees were notified of their terminations between March 4 and March 25 via a letter written by Janelle Gale, Meta’s chief people officer.
Jobs in Reality Labs, which focuses on AR and VR hardware and software, and wearable devices like the company’s smart glasses, were primarily impacted, according to GeekWire.
In early January, The New York Times reported that Meta was planning to lay off roughly 10% of its employees in its Reality Labs division.
Meta recently hit with $375M penalty over child safety concerns
On March 24, the first jury verdict in a series of social media child safety trials was released — and it’s not looking good for Meta. A jury in New Mexico found that the social media giant’s platforms are harmful to children’s mental health and imposed a $375 million penalty.
While the fine is a tiny fraction of Meta’s $201 billion revenue in 2025, the verdict illustrates a growing shift in the public’s perception of social media companies and their responsibilities in keeping young people safe on their platforms.
This year, several state and federal court cases are heading to trial, and while the details may vary, they all seek to hold companies responsible for what happens on their platforms.
The lawsuits have come from school districts, local, state, and the federal government, as well as thousands of families. The courtroom showdowns are the culmination of years of scrutiny of the platforms over child safety, and whether deliberate design choices make them addictive and serve up content that leads to depression, eating disorders, or suicide.
Meta said it disagrees with the verdict and will appeal.
“We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online,” the company said in a statement.
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