Meta Platforms is reportedly planning to implement a new round of layoffs, which is likely to eliminate more than 20% of its workforce. This decision is a part of the company’s strategy to manage expenses while investing more in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The number of employees to be laid off has not been determined yet. Moreover, no specific timeline has been set for these layoffs. However, senior management within Meta has already begun to discuss plans to downsize the workforce if the decision is made to implement layoffs.
Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, has cautiously responded to the rumors of potential layoffs. According to him, the rumors are based on speculations regarding potential strategies.
If implemented, these layoffs are likely to become one of the largest restructuring operations undertaken by Meta. If Meta Platforms implements these layoffs, which are likely to eliminate more than 20% of its workforce, then tens of thousands of employees are likely to lose their jobs. The company had nearly 79,000 employees worldwide as of December 31, as revealed by its latest financial filing.
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The company has also made significant layoffs in the past. In November 2022, the company made 11,000 layoffs, which was about 13% of its total workforce at the time. However, the company is now making a new series of layoffs as it focuses on artificial intelligence.
The company’s chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, is making artificial intelligence the focus of the company’s strategy. In the last year, the company has increased hiring for its top artificial intelligence researchers and a new internal group focused on developing advanced “superintelligence” technology.
The company is offering compensation packages of hundreds of millions of dollars to attract talent to work on its artificial intelligence technology. The company is offering the packages to elite researchers who can lead the company’s work on large language models and other advanced artificial intelligence technology.
Meta’s financial commitments to AI infrastructure are also enormous. The company plans to spend roughly $600 billion building data centers by 2028. These facilities will supply the computing power required to train and run large AI models.
Alongside infrastructure spending, Meta has pursued acquisitions to expand its AI capabilities. The company recently bought Moltbook, a social networking platform designed for AI agents. It also agreed to purchase the Chinese AI startup Manus for at least $2 billion, according to earlier reports.
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Zuckerberg has argued that these investments will change how work gets done inside the company. In January, he said he was already seeing projects that once required large teams completed by a single skilled engineer using advanced AI tools.
That shift points to one reason behind the possible layoffs. As AI systems grow more capable, tech companies believe fewer employees may be needed to produce the same amount of work. Automation and AI-assisted development could reduce the size of engineering and operations teams.
Meta is not alone in this approach. Other technology firms have also cited AI improvements while cutting staff. Amazon confirmed earlier this year that it would eliminate around 16,000 jobs, or close to 10% of its workforce. The fintech firm Block, Inc. made even deeper cuts, removing nearly half its employees while highlighting the growing role of AI tools.
For Meta, the urgency to improve its AI capabilities also comes from a series of setbacks involving its own AI technology. Last year, Meta faced a barrage of criticism when its early releases of its Llama 4 model yielded results that most researchers considered to be misleading in benchmark tests. It also canceled its plans to release its biggest model, which is called Behemoth.
The engineers have been working hard to build a new model called Avocado. However, its performance has not been up to expectations.
For its workers, the situation is full of uncertainty. For Meta, it is a clear shift towards a future that will have fewer workers, more machines, and artificial intelligence.
