March 25 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ) is laying

off a few hundred people across multiple teams on Wednesday, a

source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Meta was planning

sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company's

workforce and that top executives had signaled the plans to

other senior leaders and told them to begin planning how to pare

back.

Wednesday's layoffs were on a smaller scale. According to an

earlier report in The Information, the cuts would affect Meta's

Reality Labs division, social media teams and recruiting

operations.

"Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement

changes to ensure they're in the best position to achieve their

goals. Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for

employees whose positions may be impacted," a Meta spokesperson

said in a statement.

The Facebook parent is seeking to offset rising costs tied

to massive investments in artificial intelligence, having

forecast total expenses of $162 billion to $169 billion in 2026,

and rising employee compensation as the company spends millions

to hire top AI talent.

Meta had nearly 79,000 employees as of December 31,

according to its annual filing.