- Meta plans to lay off approximately 10% of its workforce, totaling 8,000 employees.
- These cuts are driven by a strategic shift to prioritize and invest heavily in artificial intelligence.
- The company is streamlining operations and increasing spending on AI infrastructure and talent.
Meta is undertaking a fresh round of layoffs, signalling a major shift in priorities as the company doubles down on artificial intelligence. The Mark Zuckerberg-led tech giant said it will cut around 10 per cent of its workforce, roughly 8,000 employees, while also eliminating about 6,000 unfilled roles.
The job cuts are set to begin on May 20, according to a memo from Chief People Officer Janelle Gale, first reported by Bloomberg. The move comes as Meta looks to streamline operations and redirect resources towards its expanding AI ambitions.
Efficiency Drive Meets AI Ambition
Explaining the rationale behind the layoffs, Gale said the company is aiming to run more efficiently while balancing investments in new growth areas, reported The Financial Express.
“We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” Gale wrote.
The restructuring underscores Meta’s aggressive pivot towards generative AI, where competition has intensified with players such as OpenAI, Google and Anthropic.
Billions Poured Into AI Infrastructure
Meta’s push into AI is not new, but the scale of its spending highlights the urgency. The company spent $72.2 billion in 2025 on capital expenditure, largely directed towards building data centres and AI infrastructure.
Looking ahead, Meta has indicated that spending could rise further, potentially reaching at least $115 billion in 2026, as it expands its capabilities in artificial intelligence.
Alongside infrastructure, the company has been investing heavily in talent and acquisitions. It has hired for its superintelligence lab and acquired AI startups such as Moltbook and Manus in a bid to strengthen its position in the global AI race.
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What Employees Can Expect
Meta has outlined compensation for affected employees in the United States. Those laid off will receive 16 weeks of base pay, along with an additional two weeks of pay for every year of service.
The company said that packages for employees outside the US will be broadly similar, though specific details may vary by region.
Stock Reaction and Market Context
Following the announcement, Meta’s shares fell 2.4 per cent. The stock has remained largely flat so far this year.
The layoffs come just ahead of the company’s first-quarter earnings announcement, scheduled for next week. Other tech giants, including Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft, are also set to report results around the same time.
Layoffs Not a One-Off Event
This is not Meta’s first round of job cuts in recent months. Earlier this year, CNBC reported that around 10 per cent of employees working on metaverse-related projects were laid off, affecting nearly 1,000 workers in the Reality Labs division.
Another wave of layoffs followed in March, impacting hundreds of employees across teams including Facebook, Reality Labs, global operations and sales.
In addition, Meta recently said it would reduce reliance on third-party vendors and contractors for content moderation, opting instead to deploy more AI-driven tools.
AI Set to Reshape the Workforce
The latest moves align with Zuckerberg’s broader vision of AI transforming how work is done within the company.
During Meta’s January earnings call, he described 2026 as “the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work.” He added, “We’re starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person.”
To support this transition, Meta has introduced a new internal tracking system known as the Model Capability Initiative. The system collects data such as keystrokes and mouse activity from employees’ work devices, which the company says is necessary to train AI systems.
While the layoffs may help streamline operations in the short term, they also reflect the scale of transformation as firms race to secure leadership in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
