Meta funds AI capex via layoffs
- Meta said on April 23 it will cut about 10% of its workforce, roughly 8,000 jobs, as Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg keeps shifting spending toward artificial intelligence systems and data-center capacity. - Meta’s 2026 capital spending target is $115 billion to $135 billion, up from $72.22 billion in 2025, with Chief Financial Officer Susan Li tying the increase to AI infrastructure. - The cuts land as Big Tech job losses top 92,000 in 2026 while Meta and peers keep lifting AI infrastructure budgets. (cnbc.com)
Meta is cutting about 10% of its workforce while preparing to spend as much as $135 billion on capital projects in 2026. (cnbc.com) (datacenterdynamics.com) The job cuts affect roughly 8,000 employees, and CNBC reported on April 24 that Meta disclosed the reduction a day earlier. Reuters reported earlier that the first wave is targeted for May 20, with additional cuts later in 2026. (cnbc.com) (msn.com) Meta’s 2026 capital expenditure forecast is $115 billion to $135 billion, up from $72.22 billion in 2025. Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said on the January 28 earnings call that expense growth would be driven mainly by infrastructure, including cloud spending, depreciation, and operating costs. (datacenterdynamics.com) (investor.atmeta.com) The spending is aimed at artificial intelligence computing power: Meta said it formed a Meta Compute division this month and is building out data-center capacity measured in gigawatts. Data Center Dynamics reported the company is also working on a Louisiana AI campus backed by a $27 billion joint venture with Blue Owl. (datacenterdynamics.com) Meta’s own investor site says its first-quarter 2026 earnings call is scheduled for April 29, so the company has not yet issued fresh quarterly results since setting that 2026 capex range in January. That makes the current layoffs the clearest new operating move tied to the earlier spending plan. (investor.atmeta.com) The cuts also fit a broader labor pattern across the sector. CNBC reported that more than 92,000 tech workers have been laid off so far in 2026, as Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon keep pushing money into artificial intelligence infrastructure and automation. (cnbc.com) Meta is not presenting the capex increase as a retreat from its core business. Susan Li said the company still sees opportunities to improve advertising and other existing products in 2026 while funding “an entirely new” product cycle built on its AI models. (datacenterdynamics.com) The immediate test is whether Meta’s April layoffs and January infrastructure plan show up together in the company’s April 29 results and guidance. For now, the numbers point in one direction: less payroll, more compute. (investor.atmeta.com) (cnbc.com)
