Meta Platforms, Inc. is reportedly preparing for a significant workforce reduction that could impact 20% or more of its employees, affecting approximately 16,000 positions. The parent company of Facebook aims to use this move to offset its substantial investments in artificial intelligence and prepare for efficiency gains from AI-assisted staff. According to reports, Meta plans to allocate up to $600 billion towards AI capital expenditures by 2028.
Three individuals familiar with the matter indicated that the company has not yet finalized a date for the layoffs, nor has the exact scale been determined. Two of these sources stated that Meta's top executives recently communicated this plan in discussions with other senior leaders and instructed them to begin planning the specifics of the workforce reduction.
Despite Meta's commitment to transforming into an "AI-driven" company, its core model development has recently faced significant setbacks, increasing internal pressure for restructuring. Due to the underwhelming benchmark performance of last year's Llama 4 series models, Meta was forced to abandon its planned summer release of the super-sized "Behemoth" version. Additionally, the internally codenamed "Avocado" and "Mango" super-intelligent models have seen their release dates postponed to May 2026 after failing to meet internal performance thresholds.
This combination of development delays and high costs has raised investor concerns about the company's ability to convert AI investments into tangible profit growth in the near term. When questioned about these plans, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded that such reports about large-scale layoffs represent speculative coverage based on theoretical scenarios.
According to Meta's most recent 10-K filing, the company employed approximately 79,000 people as of December 31, 2025. If finalized, a 20% reduction would represent Meta's largest round of layoffs since its restructuring plan between late 2022 and early 2023, when the company eliminated over 20,000 positions following a hiring surge that had doubled its workforce since 2020.
Meta's move reflects broader transformation challenges within the technology industry. In January, Amazon cut approximately 16,000 jobs, while Jack Dorsey's Block recently eliminated nearly half of its positions. Industry giants generally believe that with the integration of AI automation tools into internal workflows, companies no longer require workforce teams of previous scales.
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