Meta plans big job cuts
- Meta plans to cut about 8,000 jobs on May 20 as it reorganises around AI infrastructure spending. - Reports describe the change as roughly a 10% workforce reduction while reallocating billions to AI capex. - Coverage frames the move as an infrastructure-versus-headcount trade-off that will pressure near-term margins during heavy AI investment ( ).
Meta is preparing to cut about 8,000 jobs on May 20 in the first wave of a broader 2026 restructuring, according to Reuters. (reuters.com) Reuters reported on April 17 that the initial round would equal about 10% of Meta’s global workforce, with additional layoffs planned for the second half of 2026. Meta employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, 2025, according to its latest annual filing. (reuters.com) (sec.gov) The company has not publicly detailed which teams would be hit in the May 20 round, and Reuters said the timing and size of later cuts were still unsettled. Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment in that report. (reuters.com) The cuts land as Meta sharply increases spending on the physical backbone for artificial intelligence: data centers, servers, and networking gear that train and run its models. In its January 28 earnings release, Meta said 2026 capital expenditures would be $115 billion to $135 billion. (investor.atmeta.com) (s21.q4cdn.com) Meta’s own guidance also showed how heavy that buildout is expected to be this year. The company projected 2026 total expenses of $162 billion to $169 billion, while full-year 2025 capital expenditures were $72.22 billion. (investor.atmeta.com) That spending push follows a year in which Meta’s business was still growing fast. The company reported $200.97 billion in 2025 revenue, up 22% year over year, and $60.46 billion in net income. (investor.atmeta.com) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told investors in January that he was focused on “advancing personal superintelligence” in 2026, tying the company more tightly to the race to build larger artificial intelligence systems and the infrastructure behind them. (investor.atmeta.com) Meta has already gone through multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years, including the 2023 “year of efficiency,” when the company cut roughly 10,000 jobs after eliminating about 11,000 roles in late 2022. The new plan suggests the cost discipline of that period is continuing even as Meta spends more aggressively on computing capacity. (about.fb.com 1) (about.fb.com 2) The next marker is May 20, when Meta is expected to begin the first round of cuts while keeping the larger 2026 restructuring in motion. (reuters.com)
