Meta Layoff Plans
- Multiple reports say Meta plans a first wave of layoffs starting May 20, cutting roughly 8,000 employees, about 10% of staff. - Coverage ties the reductions to rising AI infrastructure costs and a broader organisational restructuring around AI priorities. - The reporting suggests Meta is reallocating funded work toward AI initiatives, a development recruiters and candidates are watching closely. (thestar.com.my)
Meta is preparing a new round of layoffs that Reuters reported will start on May 20 and cut about 8,000 jobs. (usnews.com) Reuters reported on April 17 that the first wave would equal about 10% of Meta’s global workforce, citing three people familiar with the plans. Meta declined to comment on the timing or scope of the cuts. (usnews.com) Meta said in its 2025 annual report that it had 78,865 employees as of December 31, 2025, which makes an 8,000-job reduction roughly one in 10 workers. The same filing said Meta had offices in more than 90 cities. (sec.gov) The reported cuts come as Meta keeps raising spending on artificial intelligence, which means building more data centers, buying more servers and paying for more computing power. Meta reported $72.22 billion in capital expenditures for 2025, up sharply as Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company was pushing deeper into AI in 2026. (investor.atmeta.com) Reuters said Meta is planning more layoffs in the second half of 2026, though the date and size were still unsettled as executives watch how fast AI systems can take over more work. The report said leaders are aiming for fewer management layers and more AI-assisted work across the company. (usnews.com) This would be Meta’s biggest workforce reduction since the company’s 2022 and 2023 restructuring, when it eliminated about 21,000 jobs during what Zuckerberg called the “year of efficiency.” Reuters reported that the company is now in a stronger financial position than it was during that earlier retrenchment. (usnews.com) Meta’s latest annual results showed why the company can keep spending even while cutting jobs: 2025 revenue reached $200.97 billion and net income was $60.46 billion. Costs and expenses also rose 24% for the year to $117.69 billion. (investor.atmeta.com) Reuters placed Meta inside a wider 2026 pattern across tech, where companies are tying white-collar cuts to AI-driven efficiency. The same report said Layoffs.fyi had counted 73,212 tech job losses so far this year. (usnews.com) The next marker is May 20, when Reuters said the first notices are expected to begin. Until Meta says more publicly, the clearest facts are the reported date, the reported scale and the company’s refusal to confirm them. (usnews.com)
