MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA: Meta is preparing to cut around one in ten jobs across its global workforce, as the social media giant accelerates its spending on artificial intelligence (AI) projects.
According to an internal memo circulated to employees on Thursday, the company intends to lay off roughly 8,000 staff in the coming month.
In addition to these redundancies, Meta will also halt recruitment for thousands of previously planned roles, effectively shrinking its overall workforce more sharply than the headline figure suggests.
The decision comes as Meta commits unprecedented financial resources to AI development, according to BBC.
The company is expected to spend approximately $135 billion (£100 billion) on AI initiatives this year alone—an amount nearly equal to its combined investment in the technology over the previous three years, according to a source familiar with the memo.
A spokesperson for Meta confirmed the planned job reductions but declined to provide further details.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had earlier indicated that such changes were likely.
Speaking in January, he emphasised the transformative impact of AI on productivity, suggesting that the technology would significantly alter traditional work structures.
“I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work,” Zuckerberg said, adding that individuals equipped with advanced AI tools could now complete tasks that previously required entire teams.
The latest move follows earlier, smaller rounds of layoffs this year, during which Meta cut approximately 2,000 jobs. However, employees had reportedly been anticipating deeper reductions for several weeks, amid growing internal focus on AI.
The company’s strategic pivot has also raised concerns among staff. Earlier this week, Meta informed employees that it would begin monitoring and logging their interactions with workplace systems to improve its AI models.
One employee described the measure as “dystopian”, particularly in light of the impending job cuts. “This company has become obsessed with AI,” the employee said.
Meta’s latest restructuring marks its largest workforce reduction since 2023 and continues a broader trend that has seen the company shed tens of thousands of jobs since 2022. Despite a brief period of renewed hiring last year, staffing levels had only just recovered to pre-layoff figures.
The developments at Meta reflect a wider shift across the technology sector, where companies are increasingly linking job reductions to AI adoption and investment.
Amazon has laid off more than 30,000 workers, while Oracle has cut over 10,000 roles. Smaller firms have also been affected: Block has reduced nearly half of its workforce—more than 4,000 employees—while Snap has eliminated around 1,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, Microsoft announced on the same day that it would offer voluntary buyouts to thousands of long-serving employees.
Across the industry, executives have increasingly cited both the growing capabilities of AI systems and the scale of investment required to build them as reasons for reducing headcount.
The trend underscores a fundamental shift in how major technology firms are balancing innovation with operational efficiency.
