Meta has announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce—approximately 8,000 employees—as the company ramps up spending on artificial intelligence (AI) to unprecedented levels. The layoffs, confirmed in a memo to staff on Thursday, mark Meta's largest job cuts since 2023 and come as the company prepares to invest $135 billion (£100 billion) in AI this year alone, a sum nearly equal to its total AI spending over the previous three years combined.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg had hinted at the cuts in January, noting that AI tools have made workers significantly more productive, allowing a single person to complete projects that once required a large team. "I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work," Zuckerberg said.
The layoffs will affect roughly 8,000 staff, and Meta also plans to leave thousands of open positions unfilled. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the job cuts but declined to provide further details. The news was first reported by Bloomberg and later confirmed by Reuters, which had earlier reported that Meta was considering cutting over 10,000 employees this year.
These cuts reflect a broader trend in the tech industry, where companies are increasingly prioritizing AI investments while streamlining their workforces to boost efficiency.
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