Meta’s decision to cut 8,000 jobs — and maybe more
Thousands of Meta employees may be out of a job following a layoff of 8,000 employees by Meta, The Associated Press reported.
The 8,000 layoffs are only part of the first wave of layoffs the company is planning on May 20, when 10% of Meta's global workforce, will be let go, USA Today reports.
Bloomberg (paywall) reports that the company will leave around 6,000 jobs unfilled.
The reports come as the company is not only seeking to create greater efficiency, but also to invest in different parts of its business.
These new investments may very well be new AI technologies. Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has not released any comment on the layoffs. But in its 2025 third-quarter report, the company said they are excited to build new AI-powered experiences, transforming engagement with products in the future.
"We are at an exciting point for our company, where we have continued runway to improve our core services today as well as the opportunity to build new AI-powered experiences and services that will transform how people engage with our products in the future," the report said. "Next year will enable us to continue to deliver strong revenue growth in 2026, while our progress on AI models and products will position us to capitalize on new revenue opportunities in the years to come."
According to Eyewitness News, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at the 2026 layoffs.
The founder of Facebook called 2026 "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."
In 2022-2023, Meta cut 21,000 jobs in what it is dubbed its "year of efficiency" as a form of damage control while stocks were in free fall due to the pandemic and other factors, Times of India reported.
But now situations are a little more solid, at least for Meta and other companies like Microsoft and Amazon. However, AI seems to be a viable option to make work more efficient, reducing the need for more employees.
Other companies like Block, a financial company that owns Square and Cash App, are cutting 40% of their workforce, and Microsoft said Thursday it was offering buyouts to 7% of employees whose age and years worked at the company add up to 70 or more, according to The New York Times. Amazon also reduced its workforce by 30,000, USA Today reported in January.
The recent and upcoming layoffs may be worrisome, but Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, claims it will not become a pattern.
"Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm — where we announce broad reductions every few months. That's not our plan," she told USA Today.
However, it may only be the beginning for other tech companies.
"This represents a fundamental structural shift rather than a temporary market correction," Anthony Tuggle, an executive coach and leadership expert who previously worked in AI, told CNBC. "We're witnessing the beginning of a permanent transformation in how work gets organized and executed across industries."
In 2026, more than 92,000 tech workers have been laid off with more expected. Meta's 8,000 job cuts is only the first round, with more expected in the second half of 2026.
As AI continues to become more effective and efficient, it is plausible to see even more layoffs in the near future. The total number of tech workers who have lost their job since 2020 is roughly 900,000, CNBC reported, increasing job anxiety.
The capabilities of AI tools are only beginning to be discovered, but CNBC says optimists believe AI will create more jobs after others are put in the past. After all, app developers did not exist before smartphones and IT administrators did not come before servers.
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