Short answer
Meta Platforms had 66,775 employees as of September 30, 2026, according to its Form 10-Q filed October 22, 2026, a decrease of 15% year over year. The drop follows a May 2026 headcount reduction of approximately 8,000 employees. At December 31, 2025, Meta reported 78,865 employees in its Form 10-K. Its year-end peak was 86,482 in December 2022, before layoffs of about 11,000 and 10,000.
- 66,775 employees at September 30, 2026, down from 78,450 a year earlier and 78,865 at the end of 2025.
- The May 2026 reduction of about 8,000 employees cost $1.18 billion in severance, across both of Meta's segments.
- Meta also laid off about 11,000 employees in November 2022 and about 10,000 in 2023, per its 10-Ks.
- Revenue per employee was about $2.55 million in 2025 and about $3.62 million over the year to September 2026 (our calculations).
On this page
This page is for sellers sizing Meta as an account, recruiters and analysts, and anyone who needs a citable headcount. Every figure comes from Meta Platforms' own filings: the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which state "Headcount was..." in the results summary, and the annual report on Form 10-K. Meta's fiscal year is the calendar year.
Meta employees by quarter (latest)
| As of | Headcount | Change year over year (as reported) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 30, 2026 | 66,775 | down 15% | 10-Q filed October 22, 2026 |
| June 30, 2026 | 75,472 | down 1% | 10-Q filed July 30, 2026 |
| March 31, 2026 | 77,986 | up 1% | 10-Q filed April 30, 2026 |
| December 31, 2025 | 78,865 | up 6% | 10-K filed January 29, 2026 |
| September 30, 2025 | 78,450 | up 8% | 10-Q filed October 30, 2025 |
Meta employees by year
| Year | As of | Employees | Change (as reported) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | 78,865 | up 6% | 10-K filed January 29, 2026 |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | 74,067 | up 10% | 10-K filed January 30, 2025 |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | 67,317 | down 22% | 10-K filed February 2, 2024 |
| 2022 | December 31, 2022 | 86,482 | up 20% | 10-K filed February 2, 2023 |
| 2021 | December 31, 2021 | 71,970 | up 23% | 10-K filed February 3, 2022 |
| 2020 | December 31, 2020 | 58,604 | up 30% | 10-K filed January 28, 2021 |
| 2019 | December 31, 2019 | 44,942 | up 26% | 10-K filed January 30, 2020 |
| 2018 | December 31, 2018 | 35,587 | up 42% | 10-K filed January 31, 2019 |
Filings before the 2021 rename are in the name Facebook, Inc.; the company and its SEC registration are the same.
What the number includes
The 2025 10-K says: "We had a global workforce of 78,865 employees as of December 31, 2025, and we have offices in more than 90 cities around the world." The 10-Qs give the same measure as "headcount".
- Employees only. The filings count employees and don't say that contractors are included; they mention "thousands of employees, contractors, vendors" separately in the risk factors. Third-party workforce trackers publish much larger Meta figures, built from online profiles and modelled data. They count differently and aren't comparable with the filed number.
- People given notice can still be in the count. The Q2 2026 10-Q says: "Our reported headcount includes approximately 8,000 employees impacted by the May 2026 headcount reduction, the majority of whom will no longer be reflected in our headcount by the end of the third quarter of 2026." The December 2022 figure carried a similar note for that year's layoff. That's why the drop shows up in September 2026, not June.
- Global, with no country split. Meta doesn't report a US headcount or a split by segment.
What changed and why
- 2018 to 2022: growth of 20% to 42% a year. Headcount went from 35,587 to 86,482 in four years.
- November 2022: about 11,000 laid off. The 2022 10-K calls it "one of the most difficult changes in Meta's history." It was part of a 2022 restructuring that also consolidated offices and changed data center plans, with total restructuring charges of $4.61 billion.
- 2023: about 10,000 more. In March 2023 Meta "announced three rounds of planned layoffs to further reduce our company size by approximately 10,000 employees", completed by year-end, with $1.20 billion of severance and related personnel charges. Year-end headcount fell 22%, to 67,317.
- 2024 and 2025: regrowth. Headcount rose 10% and then 6%. The 2025 10-K says Meta expects "our AI initiatives will require increased investment in infrastructure and headcount, including specialized technical personnel."
- May 2026: about 8,000. The Q3 2026 10-Q records "$1.18 billion of severance expenses related to the May 2026 headcount reduction of approximately 8,000 employees which impacted both FoA and RL segments." Revenue for that quarter still rose 26%, to $64.60 billion.
Revenue per employee
| Period | Revenue | Employees at period end | Revenue per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months to September 30, 2026 | $241.6 billion | 66,775 | about $3.62 million |
| 2025 | $201.0 billion | 78,865 | about $2.55 million |
| 2024 | $164.5 billion | 74,067 | about $2.22 million |
| 2023 | $134.9 billion | 67,317 | about $2.00 million |
| 2022 | $116.6 billion | 86,482 | about $1.35 million |
For 2025: $200,966 million divided by 78,865 is about $2.55 million. The trailing figure adds fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $59,893 million (full-year $200,966 million less $141,073 million for the first nine months) to $181,712 million for the first nine months of 2026. Because the denominator is a period-end count taken just after a large cut, the trailing figure overstates revenue per average employee.
Meta reports two segments. Family of Apps (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and other services) brought in $198.8 billion in 2025 and Reality Labs $2.2 billion, but Meta doesn't split employees between them. It does say Reality Labs spending of $21.40 billion in 2025 included headcount.
Selling to a company of Meta's size
General guidance, not a description of Meta's internal process.
A company that cut 15% of its staff in a year while revenue grew 26% is spending on infrastructure and AI, and scrutinizing everything else.
- Lead with infrastructure and AI if that's what you sell. The filings name data centers, technical infrastructure, third-party cloud services and AI token costs as the expenses that are rising.
- Expect a cost case for anything else. After a reduction, tools that save headcount or simplify work have a better hearing than tools that add process. Bring the arithmetic.
- Map the segment first. Family of Apps and Reality Labs have different products and budgets; a pitch for one rarely moves the other.
- Watch the quarterly count. Meta reports headcount every quarter, so you can see the direction before you plan a quarter's outreach.
For a research routine on accounts this large, see how to research an account, and how to find decision makers to reach the budget owner. For another engineering-heavy employer, compare Nvidia's headcount.
Next step: compare Meta with other platform and software companies on our list of the largest tech companies.
Sources
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 22 October 2026
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 30 July 2026
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 30 April 2026
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 30 October 2025
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 29 January 2026
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 30 January 2025
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 2 February 2024
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 2 February 2023
- Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, Meta Platforms, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 3 February 2022
- Facebook, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, Facebook, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 28 January 2021
- Facebook, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Facebook, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 30 January 2020
- Facebook, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, Facebook, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 31 January 2019
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many employees does Meta have after the 2026 layoffs?
66,775 as of September 30, 2026, according to Meta's 10-Q for the third quarter. That's down 15% from 78,450 a year earlier. Meta cut approximately 8,000 employees in May 2026, and its second-quarter 10-Q said most of them would leave its headcount by the end of the third quarter, which is why the June figure of 75,472 barely moved.
How many people has Meta laid off?
Meta's filings describe three reductions: about 11,000 employees announced in November 2022, about 10,000 in three rounds announced in March 2023 and completed that year, and about 8,000 in May 2026. That's roughly 29,000 across the three (our sum of the filed figures). Severance charges were about $1.2 billion in 2023 and $1.18 billion in 2026.
When did Meta have the most employees?
Among year-end counts, at December 31, 2022, when Meta reported 86,482 employees in its 10-K. That figure still included most of the roughly 11,000 people affected by the November 2022 layoff, who left the count in early 2023. By December 31, 2023 headcount had fallen 22%, to 67,317, after a further reduction of about 10,000.
Does Meta's employee count include contractors?
Meta's filings report employees and don't say that contractors are included. The 10-K describes a global workforce of 78,865 employees at the end of 2025 and mentions contractors separately. Third-party trackers built from online profiles publish much higher figures for Meta, but they count differently, so they aren't comparable with the filed number.
How much revenue does Meta make per employee?
About $2.55 million in 2025, by our calculation: revenue of $200,966 million divided by 78,865 employees at year-end. Over the 12 months to September 30, 2026, revenue of about $241.6 billion against 66,775 employees gives about $3.62 million. The second figure is inflated because headcount was measured right after the May 2026 reduction.