Zuckerberg’s $300M superyacht passes through Seattle’s Ballard locks right when Meta cuts 1,400 local jobs

Shortly after it was revealed that nearly 1,400 King County-based jobs were a part of Meta’s massive layoffs, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 million superyacht appeared in Seattle.

The yacht, a 387-foot Launchpad built by Feadship, traveled from Elliott Bay through Seattle’s Ballard locks toward Lake Union. The Launchpad was the largest yacht developed and built by Feadship until 2024.

“Superyacht-wise, this is the biggest one I’ve had in 14 years,” a lock operator told GeekWire after helping guide the vessel through the passage.

GeekWire reported that the timing of the boat’s arrival in Seattle and the job cuts was coincidental.

“According to what’s been said, [the layoffs] were a way to clear $145 billion a year to buy machines, right? AI stuff, that kind of deal,” KIRO host Gee Scott said. “If you do the math on that, 1,400 employees, and then you talk about $145 billion, that kind of equates to about $100 million per worker. But the craziest part happened yesterday. Yesterday, in the Ballard locks, this beautiful $300 million 387-foot yacht showed up. And oh, is it pretty. When it pulled through the Ballard locks, I asked, ‘Who’s the owner?'”

According to GeekWire, Zuckerberg was not on board.

“There’s a lot of three-card monte that’s happening. Have you guys ever gone to New York and you’ve seen three-card monte? You pay attention to this, watch this, and all the card tricks and stuff, and what they do is, a lot of times, it’s the mouth. It’s the talking that happens that gets you distracted, right?” Gee continued. “To get you looking at other things. Meanwhile, the trick is happening in other places; that is what’s continuing to happen every single day. People were talking about one thing while not focusing on another, but this right here is just pretty gross to me. And so, what a day. My heart goes out to the 1,400 people.”

1,395 King County-based jobs cut amid latest round of company-wide layoffs

Among the 8,000 Meta layoffs that were announced last week, it is now confirmed that 1,395 are within King County.

May 20 marked the first day of notices for layoffs within Meta as the tech giant aims to cut 8,000 roles, or 10% of its workforce, while investing billions of dollars in AI. According to The New York Post, another 7,000 staffers are to be reassigned to AI-focused positions.

Filings through Washington’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) revealed that 1,395 job cuts were based in King County. This includes offices in Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond, as well as remote roles statewide.

The cuts are set to begin July 22. An internal memo circulated the company last month, preempting the dismissals.

Meta has approximately 8,000 workers in the Puget Sound region, according to KOMO News.

Meta previously laid off 499 Seattle-area employees in 2026.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.