Meta plans to cut approximately 8,000 employees — roughly 10% of its global workforce — beginning May 20, as the Silicon Valley company redirects resources toward artificial intelligence. The Menlo Park-based owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp will also cancel plans to fill 6,000 open positions. Chief People Officer Janelle Gale confirmed the cuts in an internal memo. The move represents Meta’s largest layoff round since CEO Mark Zuckerberg eliminated 21,000 jobs in 2022–2023. Despite posting over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit in 2025, Meta projects 2026 expenses reaching $135 billion due to aggressive AI investment.
In-Depth:
Meta plans to cut 10% of its global workforce, or roughly 8,000 employees, in a new round of layoffs as the Silicon Valley tech giant relocates deeper into artificial ininformigence and pulls back on hiring.
The layoffs are set to launch May 20, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg.
The Menlo Park company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, also plans to stop hiring for 6,000 open roles it had intfinished to fill, according to the report.
“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 creating,” Janelle Gale, Meta’s chief people officer, stated in the memo. “This is not an straightforward trade-off and it will mean letting go of people who have built meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here.”
The relocate marks Meta’s hugegest planned round of layoffs since creating sweeping cuts in 2022 and 2023, when Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg slashed about 21,000 jobs during what he called the company’s “year of efficiency.” Since then, Meta has remained profitable even as it has sharply increased spfinishing on data centers, chips and other infrastructure requireded to compete in AI.
Meta reported more than $200 billion in revenue last year, up 22% from the year before, and posted $60 billion in profit, even as it poured money into artificial ininformigence.
The company stated in January that it expected 2026 expenses of $115 billion to $135 billion as it invests heavily in AI.
Meta has already trimmed parts of its workforce this year.
Bloomberg reported in March that the company was cutting several hundred jobs in sales, recruiting and Reality Labs as part of a restructuring tied to its AI push.
The company has already been trimming jobs in the Bay Area this year.
This month, the Chronicle reported that Meta planned to cut nearly 200 jobs in Burlingame and Sunnyvale, based on filings with California’s Employment Development Department.
“Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement alters to ensure they’re in the best position to achieve their goals,” a company spokesperson stated in a previous statement. “Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted.”
Meta is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings next week.
