Meta is cutting approximately 8,000 jobs — 10% of its workforce — as the company pours record sums into artificial intelligence, according to a memo sent to employees on Thursday. The layoffs come alongside plans to leave thousands of additional open positions unfilled.
The social media giant will spend $135 billion on AI this year alone, roughly matching its total AI spending over the previous three years combined, a source familiar with the memo told the BBC.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg had hinted at the cuts in January, noting that AI tools have made workers significantly more productive. "I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work," he said at the time.
Employees had been bracing for deeper cuts after two smaller layoff rounds earlier this year, which eliminated about 2,000 roles. The company also recently announced it would track workers' computer interactions — including clicks and keystrokes — to train its AI models, a move one employee described as "dystopian" given the looming job losses.
Since 2022, Meta has shed tens of thousands of workers through multiple restructuring rounds, though hiring had resumed in some areas. The upcoming cuts will be the company's largest since 2023.
Meta is not alone. Other tech giants including Amazon, Oracle, and Microsoft have also announced major job cuts this year, citing increased AI investment and automation as key drivers.