Overview
- The Feadship-built superyacht Launchpad passed through the Ballard Locks and moored on Lake Union on Tuesday, drawing large crowds and local media attention.
- Public WARN filings show Meta disclosed about 1,395 layoffs in western Washington with specific counts for Bellevue, Redmond, Seattle locations and Washington-based remote workers.
- Reporters and crew said Mark Zuckerberg did not appear to be aboard the vessel and public reporting linking him to the Launchpad remains unconfirmed by him.
- Onlookers booed and heckled as the yacht arrived and photos show crew unloading supplies from a U-Haul while the ship flew a Marshall Islands flag and sat in a Westlake slip.
- The local cuts are part of a broader company plan that includes roughly 8,000 global job reductions and heavy capital spending on AI infrastructure that Meta projects could total tens of billions this year, and affected employees were told their roles would end around mid to late July.