Meta to cut 10% of workforce as it pours billions into AI

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Meta is cutting about 8,000 jobs as it pours billions into artificial intelligence. The social media giant told employees in a memo on Thursday that it plans to reduce its workforce by 10% next month.

The company also confirmed it will scrap thousands of open roles it had previously intended to fill.

The layoffs signal a major shift in how the company spends its money. Meta expects to invest $135 billion in AI projects this year alone, a sum nearly equal to its total AI spending over the last three years combined. This massive investment in infrastructure and technology is now being prioritized over traditional staffing costs.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously hinted at these changes, noting that AI tools are making individual employees significantly more productive. He observed that a single person can now complete projects that once required an entire team. Zuckerberg has predicted that 2026 will be the year AI “dramatically changes” the way the company operates.

While Meta had already cut roughly 2,000 workers in smaller rounds earlier this year, staff had been braced for a much deeper reduction. The upcoming job cuts represent the company’s largest layoff since its “Year of Efficiency” in 2023.

The announcement has caused unease among the remaining staff. Meta recently informed employees it would begin tracking and logging their computer interactions to help train and improve its internal AI models. One employee described the move to the BBC as “dystopian,” particularly as workers feel they are being forced to help build their own automated replacements.

Meta is not the only tech firm cutting staff to fund AI ambitions. The broader industry has seen a wave of reductions this year, with Amazon letting go of 30,000 workers and Oracle cutting 10,000. Microsoft also offered thousands of its most experienced workers voluntary buyouts this week.

These moves suggest that, across Silicon Valley, executives are betting that advanced software can replace a significant portion of their human workforce.

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