Meta targets May 20 for first wave of layoffs; additional cuts later in 2026

Layoffs linked to AI-driven efficiency push, mirroring broader tech-sector trends

FILE PHOTO: Cars drive past a sign of Meta, the new name for the company formerly known as Facebook, at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, US Oct 28, 2021. REUTERS

Meta intends to conduct a first wave of sweeping layoffs planned for this year on May 20, with more ‌coming later, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.

The Facebook and Instagram owner will lay off about 10% of its global workforce, or close to 8,000 employees, in that initial round, one of the sources said.

The company is planning further layoffs in the second half of the year, the three sources said, although details of those cuts, including date and size, were not yet settled. Executives may adjust their plans as they observe developments in artificial intelligence capabilities, the sources added.

Reuters reported last month that the company was planning to lay off 20% or more of its global workforce.

Meta declined to comment on the timing or scope of planned cuts.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into AI as he seeks to dramatically reshape his company’s inner workings around the technology, reflecting a broader pattern among major US companies this year, particularly in the tech sector.

Amazon.com similarly has trimmed 30,000 corporate employees in recent months, representing nearly 10% of its white-collar workers, while in February the fintech company Block chopped nearly half of its staff.

In both of those cases, executives tied the cuts to efficiency gains from artificial intelligence.

Layoffs.fyi, a website tracking tech job cuts around the world, reported that 73,212 employees have lost their jobs so far this year. For all of 2024, the figure was 153,000.

Meta's ‌layoffs this ⁠year will be the social media giant's most significant since a restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023 that it dubbed the "year of efficiency," when it eliminated about 21,000 jobs. At that time, Meta's stock was in freefall and the company was struggling to correct for COVID-era growth assumptions that ultimately proved unsustainable.

The company is in a more comfortable financial position this time, but executives envision a future of fewer management layers and greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers.

Hungarians woke up to a political earthquake this Monday, but what does that mean for the market?

Meta's shares are up 3.68% since the start of the year, although they are down from a record high achieved last summer. Last year, it generated more than $200 billion of revenue and achieved a $60 billion profit despite outsized spending on artificial intelligence.

Menlo Park, California-based Meta ⁠employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, according to its latest filing.

In recent weeks, Meta has reorganised teams in its Reality Labs division and transferred engineers from throughout the company into a new “Applied AI” organisation tasked with accelerating the development of AI agents that can write code and carry out complex tasks autonomously.

One of the sources said some staffers also would be transferred into Meta Small Business, a unit set up last month, as part of the restructuring.