Meta announces roughly 8,000 job cuts

Meta Platforms began a new round of layoffs on Wednesday, May 20, after telling employees in April that it would cut about 10% of its workforce, or roughly 8,000 jobs. The Facebook and Instagram owner also said it would scrap plans to hire for 6,000 open roles, according to an internal memo reported by CNBC. Reuters reported on April 17 that the May 20 cuts would be the first wave of a broader 2026 restructuring, with additional layoffs planned later in the year. ### How big is this round, and when did Meta set it in motion? April 17 is when Reuters first reported that Meta was targeting May 20 for an initial layoff round affecting about 10% of its global workforce. One source told Reuters that the first wave would reach close to 8,000 employees, with further cuts under consideration for the second half of 2026. Meta declined at the time to comment on the timing or scope. (finance.yahoo.com) April 23 is when CNBC reported that Meta had told employees in a memo that the job cuts would begin on May 20. CNBC said the company would also cancel 6,000 open positions it had planned to fill. ### Which teams are being hit, and what else is changing? Meta has not publicly released a full team-by-team breakdown in the sources reviewed, but CNBC said the company’s earlier 2026 cuts had already reached Reality Labs, Facebook, global operations and sales. (finance.yahoo.com) The user-provided briefing and social posts said engineering and product teams were among the hardest hit in this latest round, but that detail was not independently confirmed in the primary reporting reviewed here. (cnbc.com) January and March already brought smaller reductions inside Meta. CNBC reported that about 1,000 people in Reality Labs were let go in January, and hundreds more employees across several units were affected in March. The company also said last month it would rely more heavily on AI technologies and less on some outside vendors and contractors used for content moderation. (cnbc.com) ### Why is Meta cutting jobs while spending more on AI? Mark Zuckerberg has been increasing Meta’s AI spending even as the company reduces headcount. Reuters said Zuckerberg was pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into AI to reshape the company’s inner workings around the technology. CNBC reported this week that Meta lifted its 2026 capital-expenditure guidance last month by as much as $10 billion, to as high as $145 billion. (cnbc.com) Meta told employees in the April memo that the reductions were “all part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” CNBC reported. That language tied the layoffs directly to the company’s spending priorities. ### How does this compare with Meta’s earlier layoffs? (finance.yahoo.com) Late 2022 and early 2023 were Meta’s last major restructuring period. Reuters said the company eliminated about 21,000 jobs during what Zuckerberg called the “year of efficiency.” At that time, Meta was responding to a post-pandemic slowdown and weaker stock performance. (cnbc.com) December 31 headcount gives the scale of the new cuts. CNBC said Meta reported 78,865 employees at the end of 2025, down from 86,482 at the end of 2022. A 10% reduction from that base works out to roughly the 8,000 jobs cited in the April memo and subsequent reporting. ### Is this the end of the restructuring? May 18 reporting from CNBC said no. (finance.yahoo.com) The outlet, citing people with knowledge of the matter, reported that more layoffs are expected this year, including a potential round in August and another in the fall. Reuters also reported on April 17 that additional cuts were planned for the second half of 2026, though dates and sizes had not been finalized. (cnbc.com) May 20 is therefore a starting point, not the last date in the process. The next concrete markers are any company disclosures on the size of the completed cuts and whether Meta proceeds with the additional rounds reported by Reuters and CNBC for later in 2026. (finance.yahoo.com) (cnbc.com)