Mark Zuckerberg
Mark ZuckerbergReuters

Facebook owner Meta will lay off more than 11,000 of its staff in "the most difficult changes we've made in Meta's history," boss Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, reported the AFP news agency.

Zuckerberg said the cuts represented 13 percent of the social media titan's workforce and would affect its research lab focusing on the metaverse as well as its apps, which include Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

"I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here," Zuckerberg said in a note to staff, adding, "I know this is tough for everyone, and I'm especially sorry to those impacted."

Zuckerberg told his 87,000-strong staff he had expected the boost in e-commerce and online activity during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue, but added: "I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that."

The Wall Street Journalfirst reported the Meta layoffs on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The layoffs at Meta follow similar moves at Twitter after its purchase by Elon Musk.

Musk, who officially took over Twitter at the end of October, fired at least four top executives at the company upon taking over.

On Friday, Twitter laid off half its workforce, with tweets by staff of the social media company saying the team responsible for human rights was among those affected.