Meta cuts about 8,000 jobs, cancels 6,000 openings

Meta Platforms is beginning a new round of layoffs this week after telling employees in an April 23 memo that it would cut about 10% of its workforce, or roughly 8,000 jobs, and stop hiring for 6,000 open roles. CNBC reported on May 18 that the reductions are set to start Wednesday, May 20, citing the memo and people familiar with the matter. (cnbc.com) Bloomberg first reported the April memo, which said the job cuts were part of an effort to improve efficiency and offset heavy spending on artificial intelligence. (sec.gov) Meta has not publicly announced the layoffs in a press release or SEC filing reviewed for this story. The company did, however, formally raise its 2026 capital expenditure guidance on April 29 to $125 billion to $145 billion, up from $115 billion to $135 billion, in its first-quarter earnings release filed with the U.S. (bloomberg.com) Securities and Exchange Commission. Meta said the higher range reflected higher component pricing and additional data center costs to support future-year capacity. ### When did Meta tell employees the cuts were coming? April 23 is the date Meta told employees about the cuts, according to reports by Bloomberg and CNBC that described an internal memo sent that day. CNBC said the memo told staff the layoffs would begin on May 20 and would affect about 8,000 employees, while another 6,000 open roles would be scrapped. (cnbc.com) May 18 is when CNBC reported that the layoffs were starting this week. Its report said the company was reducing its workforce by about 10% and had already outlined that plan internally in April. Meta declined to comment to CNBC. (sec.gov) ### How large is this compared with Meta’s recent workforce history? About 8,000 jobs would represent roughly 10% of Meta’s workforce, based on the figures cited in the April reports. CNBC described the reductions as the latest in a series of cuts that followed earlier layoffs in late 2022 and 2023, when Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company needed to become more efficient after overhiring during the pandemic. (cnbc.com) January 2026 also brought about 1,000 cuts in Meta’s Reality Labs unit, CNBC reported on May 18, followed by hundreds more reductions in March and changes to contractor arrangements in content moderation. Those earlier moves put the current round in a broader pattern of cost cutting inside the company this year. (cnbc.com) ### What does the company say about the money it is spending on AI? April 29 is the date Meta raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to as much as $145 billion. In its earnings release, the company said first-quarter capital expenditures were $19.84 billion and that the higher full-year outlook was tied to component pricing and data center costs. (cnbc.com) Mark Zuckerberg said in that same earnings release that Meta had “strong momentum” across its apps and had released its first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs. The company told investors it was “on track to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people,” tying the spending increase to a larger AI buildout already underway. (cnbc.com) ### Is there direct evidence linking the layoffs to AI infrastructure spending? Bloomberg’s April 23 report said the layoffs were meant to boost efficiency and offset Meta’s heavy spending on artificial intelligence. CNBC, citing the April memo, reported that Meta told employees 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.” (sec.gov) Meta’s SEC filing does not mention the layoffs. The filing does, however, document the increase in projected capital spending and says the added costs are tied in part to future-year data center capacity, which is the company’s formal explanation to investors for the higher 2026 spending range. (sec.gov) ### What comes next, and what should readers watch for? May 20 is the date Meta told employees the layoffs would begin, according to the April memo described by Bloomberg and CNBC. CNBC also reported on May 18, citing people familiar with the matter, that additional layoffs could come later in 2026, including a possible round in August and another in the fall. (bloomberg.com) Meta’s next formal checkpoint is likely to come in its next quarterly earnings materials or SEC filings, where investors will be able to see whether the company changes its capital spending range again or discloses new restructuring costs. As of April 29, Meta’s official 2026 capex forecast remained $125 billion to $145 billion. (sec.gov) (bloomberg.com)