MENLO PARK — Meta will lay off about 10 percent of its nearly 80,000 employees on Wednesday and transfer 7,000 remaining staff into artificial intelligence initiatives, according to a company-wide memo. The combined cuts and reassignments will affect 20 percent of the current workforce, with additional managers being converted into individual contributor roles.

Layoff notices will be sent to affected workers' personal and corporate email addresses at 4 a.m. in their local time zone, the memo said. Some divisions within the company have been told they will not be affected.

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company must free up cash to invest in AI data centers. He said Meta can perform just as well with fewer employees because of AI technologies that augment human labor.

The reductions follow three previous large rounds of layoffs since 2022, including cuts that were part of the company's "year of efficiency" drive in 2023. Meta, which oversees Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook, is reporting record-high profits.

Meta management has encouraged employees not to come into offices on Wednesday, and the offices have been largely empty. Some teams have arranged to gather at bars and restaurants near the company's New York and Menlo Park locations on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some workers meeting offsite to commiserate with friends.

Ahead of the announcement, employees circulated internal checklists about benefits to take advantage of and saved documents such as performance reviews and pay stubs. Others have prioritized polishing their résumés.