Meta forecasts $115B–$135B in 2026 capex while announcing layoffs

Meta began notifying employees on May 20 that it was carrying out another round of layoffs as the company pushed ahead with a much larger artificial-intelligence buildout. The company has told investors it expects 2026 capital expenditures of $115 billion to $135 billion, up from $72.22 billion in 2025. Internal messages described the cuts as part of a restructuring meant to help fund that spending, while shifting thousands of employees onto new AI-related work. CNBC and other outlets reported the reductions would affect roughly 10% of the workforce, or about 8,000 jobs. ### How big is the spending plan Meta has already put on the table? Meta said in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results that it expected 2026 capital expenditures of $115 billion to $135 billion. The company said 2025 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, were $72.22 billion. That makes the low end of the 2026 range sharply higher than last year’s total, based on the company’s own figures. (cnbc.com) Yahoo Finance reported after Meta’s earnings release in January that the spending outlook was tied to the company’s AI infrastructure buildout. Axios separately reported that Meta executives had described AI talent and infrastructure spending as central to the company’s strategy. (investor.atmeta.com) ### What did employees get told about the layoffs and AI reorganization? CNBC reported that Meta started the latest layoffs on May 20 and that the cuts affected about 10% of the workforce, or roughly 8,000 jobs. Bloomberg reported the notifications began with employees in Asia before U.S.-based staff received notices later that day. (finance.yahoo.com) USA Today, citing a memo seen by Reuters, reported that Chief People Officer Janelle Gale told employees the company planned to move 7,000 workers to new initiatives related to AI workflows while eliminating jobs elsewhere. Fox Business also reported that Meta was consolidating those employees into four new AI-focused organizations. (cnbc.com) ### How does this compare with Meta’s recent headcount? Meta reported 78,865 employees as of Dec. 31, 2025, in materials summarizing its full-year results. A reduction of about 8,000 jobs would amount to roughly one-tenth of that workforce, matching the scale described by CNBC and other outlets. (usatoday.com) Business Insider published the email sent to affected workers, saying Meta told employees their roles had been eliminated and outlining severance and transition details. The New York Times reported that the company had told employees last month it would carry out mass layoffs on May 20 as it worked to remake itself around AI. (en.paperjam.lu) ### Are the cuts supposed to pay for the AI push? The Verge reported that Meta framed the layoffs as a way to offset AI investment costs. Bloomberg described the restructuring as an effort to reduce costs while Meta invests heavily in artificial intelligence. TrendForce, citing analysts, said the savings from the cuts may be modest relative to the size of Meta’s planned capital spending. (businessinsider.com) That estimate was outside Meta’s own disclosures, but it underscored the gap between labor savings and the scale of the infrastructure budget now planned. (bloomberg.com) ### What should readers watch for next? Meta’s next official detail on capital spending, headcount and AI-related costs is likely to come through its regular investor disclosures, including earnings materials and SEC filings. Those filings will show whether the company keeps the $115 billion to $135 billion capex range in place and how much headcount changes after the May 20 layoffs and the reassignment of more than 7,000 employees into AI work. (trendforce.com) (investor.atmeta.com)