Meta has started a sweeping layoff wave affecting roughly 8,000 employees in a move that highlights the aggressive shift across the tech industry toward artificial intelligence and leaner workforces.
The company informed employees in April about plans to cut 10% of its workforce starting May 20, while around 7,000 additional staff members were told this week they would be reassigned to AI-related teams and projects.
The layoffs are being carried out in three global waves, with employees receiving termination emails at 4 a.m. local time in their respective regions. Meta’s head of HR, Janelle Gale, also instructed North American employees to work from home during the layoff period as tensions escalated inside company offices.
Detail
- Reports described growing anger and anxiety across Meta offices ahead of the cuts, including internal protests over the company’s use of employee data to train AI models.
- Employees reportedly circulated petitions inside offices opposing new data-tracking programs, while others rushed to take office equipment and supplies amid fears of losing their jobs.
- Hundreds of workers at Meta’s New York office also planned a gathering on the eve of the layoffs as uncertainty spread across teams.
- Meta said affected employees would receive severance packages including at least 16 weeks of base pay, plus an additional two weeks for every year worked, alongside healthcare and career support benefits.
The move comes as the company sharply increases spending on artificial intelligence, with capital expenditures expected to reach as much as $145 billion this year — more than double its 2025 spending.
Mark Zuckerberg had already cut more than 20,000 jobs between 2022 and 2023 as part of efforts to reduce bureaucracy and restructure Meta around AI technologies.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the tech sector lost more than 52,000 jobs during the first quarter of 2026, marking a 40% increase compared with the same period last year as automation and AI adoption accelerate across the industry.
What’s Next?
Attention is now turning to whether Meta will launch additional layoff rounds later this year — and whether tech companies can sustain the AI race without triggering deeper pressure on jobs and workforce stability.
