Meta cuts nearly 1,400 Seattle-area jobs in AI revamp

Meta filed a WARN notice with the Washington State Employment Security Department disclosing cuts of 1,395 jobs in Washington state, which GeekWire reports equal about 20% of its local workforce. The filing lists roughly 699 cuts at the Bellevue Spring District office, about 215 at the Dexter Avenue Seattle office, 206 in Redmond, 44 at a second Seattle location on Utah Avenue, and about 231 remote employees based in the state, per GeekWire. The Seattle-area layoffs take effect July 22, 2026.

The Washington cuts are part of a companywide reduction of roughly 8,000 positions Meta disclosed internally in April, alongside a raised 2026 capital-expenditure forecast of $125 billion-$145 billion, up from a prior $115 billion-$135 billion range, according to CNBC. Evercore analysts estimate the layoffs will generate only about $3 billion in savings, a small offset against the AI infrastructure spending, and CNBC reports Meta's free cash flow is projected to fall from $43.6 billion in 2025 to about $8.5 billion in 2026. Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton told GeekWire: "The changes we are implementing vary by team and include layoffs, open role closures, and moving thousands of employees to business critical priorities across the company."

Companies reallocating headcount toward large-scale AI investment commonly cite infrastructure and product prioritization when announcing cuts. This pattern typically concentrates staff on core AI development, cloud and data center work, and product-critical engineering while trimming roles judged less directly tied to those priorities. Large layoffs at major cloud and consumer-tech employers can also reshape local talent markets, temporarily increasing the supply of experienced engineers available to startups and other firms scaling AI infrastructure in the region.

Watch for supplemental WARN notices or severance details from Meta, local hiring patterns over the next three to six months as displaced talent re-enters the Puget Sound market, and further comments from Meta leadership on whether additional cuts follow later in the year, as company leaders have told staff is possible.