Oct 16 (Reuters) - Meta is laying off employees

across units including Instagram, WhatsApp and Reality Labs, the

Verge reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the

matter.

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters in a statement that a few

of its teams were making changes to align with their long-term

strategic goals and location strategy.

"This includes moving some teams to different locations, and

moving some employees to different roles. In situations like

these when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other

opportunities for impacted employees," the spokesperson said.

The Verge report did not specify the exact number of job

cuts but mentioned that they were small. Meta also did not

comment on the numbers.

Separately, the Financial Times reported that Meta fired

another two dozen staff in Los Angeles for allegedly using their

daily $25 meal credits to instead buy household items including

acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent.

These terminations are separate from the team restructurings

and took place last week, the FT report said.

Meta declined to comment on the FT report.

Meta has slashed around 21,000 jobs since November 2022 to

keep costs low with CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling 2023 the "Year

of Efficiency".

Meta shares have jumped more than 60% this year.

In its most recent second quarter results, Meta beat market

expectations for revenue and issued a rosy sales forecast for

the third quarter, signaling that robust digital-ad spending on

its social media platforms can cover the cost of its

artificial-intelligence investments.