Meta plans major layoffs as AI investment costs rise
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Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20 percent or more of its workforce as the company seeks to offset rising costs linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure and improve efficiency, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Three sources told Reuters that no date has been set for the job cuts, and the final scale of the layoffs has not yet been determined. Senior executives have reportedly informed other leaders within the company to begin preparing plans to reduce staff.
Meta did not immediately comment on the reported plans.
If the company proceeds with cuts affecting about one-fifth of its workforce, it would mark its largest round of layoffs since a restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023 that the company described as its “year of efficiency.”
Meta had nearly 79,000 employees as of December 31, according to its latest filing.
In November 2022, the company cut about 11,000 jobs, roughly 13 percent of its workforce at the time. Around four months later, it announced another round of layoffs affecting about 10,000 employees.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing Meta to strengthen its position in generative artificial intelligence. The company has offered large compensation packages, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars over four years, to attract leading AI researchers for a new superintelligence team.
Meta has also announced plans to invest about 600 billion dollars to build data centres by 2028. Earlier this week, the company acquired Moltbook, a social networking platform designed for AI agents. It is also spending at least 2 billion dollars to buy the Chinese AI startup Manus, according to earlier reports by Reuters.
Zuckerberg has said recent AI advances are already improving productivity, noting in January that some projects that once required large teams can now be completed by a single highly skilled person.
The reported layoffs reflect a broader trend among major technology companies as they invest heavily in AI while seeking greater operational efficiency. Earlier this year, Amazon confirmed plans to cut about 16,000 jobs, nearly 10 percent of its workforce.
Meta’s increased investment in AI follows setbacks with its Llama 4 models last year, including criticism over benchmark results and the decision to abandon the release of its largest version, called Behemoth. The company’s superintelligence team is now developing a new model named Avocado, though its performance has reportedly fallen short of expectations.