Facebook parent company Meta is set to begin large-scale layoffs this week, as soon as Wednesday, as part of the tech giant’s first head-count reduction in the company’s 18-year history.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the development, citing people familiar with the matter. 

“The layoffs are expected to affect many thousands of employees, and an announcement is planned to come as soon as Wednesday, according to the people,” WSJ said on Sunday evening. 

The report noted that the number of Meta employees expected to lose their jobs could be the “largest to date at a major technology corporation in a year that has seen a tech industry retrenchment.”

In late September, Meta reported having over 87,000 employees. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had announced plans to reorganise teams and reduce headcount, saying the company would freeze hiring and restructure some teams to trim expenses and realign priorities.

Last week, newly acquired Twitter began laying off its staff. Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly planned to cut roughly 50 per cent of Twitter’s 7,500 employees amid the job cut wave sweeping the tech industry. 

Online financial services company Chime announced that it would lay off 12 per cent of its staff, with the cuts expected to affect 160 of the company’s 1,300 employees, according to an internal memo reported by TechCrunch.

Ride-hailing company Lyft will reportedly lay off 13 per cent of its staff, according to a letter obtained by CNBC, with job cuts affecting approximately 650 employees. This is the company’s second round of layoffs this year, after it laid off 60 workers in July. Stripe also rolled out plans to cut 14 per cent of its staff strength.