Meta Plans Massive Layoffs Affecting Up to Twenty Percent of Workforce to Fund AI Ambitions

Tech Giant Prepares Largest Cuts Since 2022

Meta Platforms is reportedly considering its most aggressive workforce reduction since the sweeping cuts of 2022 and 2023. According to sources familiar with internal discussions, the company is weighing layoffs that could impact more than twenty percent of its approximately seventy-nine thousand employees, potentially eliminating around sixteen thousand roles.

AI Spending Drives the Knife

The planned cuts are directly tied to Meta's enormous bet on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company has projected capital expenditure of between one hundred and fifteen billion and one hundred and thirty-five billion dollars for 2026 alone, with estimates suggesting total AI investment could reach six hundred billion dollars by 2028. Projects include gigawatt-scale data centres, a fifty billion dollar facility in Louisiana, and deals for six gigawatts of nuclear power.

A Pattern of Cuts

The potential layoffs follow a steady drumbeat of workforce reductions. In January, Meta cut fifteen hundred jobs from its Reality Labs division. In October 2025, six hundred positions were eliminated from its Superintelligence Labs. Earlier in 2025, roughly thirty-six hundred workers were let go in performance-based layoffs. The company also reduced annual stock awards for most employees by five percent this year, following a ten percent cut the previous year.

Zuckerberg's Vision of a Leaner Company

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has signalled that AI will allow Meta to operate with fewer people, telling investors that projects once requiring large teams are now being completed by single individuals. The company has appointed Dina Powell McCormick, a former advisor to the US president, to oversee government and investor partnerships for its AI infrastructure ventures.

Industry-Wide Trend

Meta's plans reflect a broader pattern across corporate America, where companies from financial services to e-commerce are cutting staff while pouring resources into AI capabilities.