Meta announced on Thursday that it plans to lay off approximately 10% of its global workforce, affecting around 8,000 employees, marking the latest wave of job cuts across the technology sector driven in part by the rise of artificial intelligence.
The company will also eliminate roughly 6,000 unfilled positions, according to a memo from Chief People Officer Janelle Gale that was published by Bloomberg. The layoffs are scheduled to take effect on May 20.
“We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” Gale wrote.
The move comes as Meta, alongside other major technology firms, continues to significantly increase its investment in artificial intelligence.
The company reported capital expenditures of $72.2 billion in 2025, largely tied to data centres and AI infrastructure, and has projected that figure will rise to at least $115 billion in 2026, according to its January earnings report.
In parallel, Meta has been investing heavily in talent and acquisitions to strengthen its AI capabilities, including hiring for its superintelligence lab and acquiring emerging startups such as Moltbook and Manus, as it competes with firms like OpenAI.
Shares of Meta fell by more than 2% in Thursday afternoon trading following the announcement.
The layoffs reflect a broader trend across industries, with companies increasingly citing artificial intelligence as a driver of operational efficiency and workforce restructuring.
Amazon said in January it would cut 16,000 jobs — its second major round of layoffs within three months — underscoring a continued focus on cost efficiency.
Meanwhile, fintech firm Block announced in February plans to reduce its workforce by 40%, impacting more than 4,000 employees, while warning that further layoffs across the sector could follow.
Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg had earlier indicated that artificial intelligence could lead to structural workforce changes. Speaking during the company’s January earnings call, he described 2026 as “the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work.”
“We’re starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person,” Zuckerberg said.
Meta added that affected employees in the United States will receive 16 weeks of base pay, along with an additional two weeks’ compensation for each year of service. Severance packages for international employees are expected to follow a similar structure.
The company previously cut tens of thousands of jobs in 2022 and 2023, as part of efforts to scale back after rapid hiring during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, Meta also announced plans to reduce approximately 5% of its workforce, targeting what it described as its lowest-performing employees, while indicating that many of those roles would eventually be refilled.
