Meta is set to carry out a round of substantial layoffs on May 20, reducing around 10% of its worldwide workforce, equivalent to nearly 8,000 employees, as reported by Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the company’s plans.
Additional job cuts are anticipated in the latter part of the year, with specifics such as dates and extent yet to be finalized. The sources mentioned that executives might make adjustments to these plans based on advancements in artificial intelligence capabilities.
A previous report by Reuters indicated that the parent company of Facebook and Instagram was contemplating slashing 20% or more of its global workforce. Meta chose not to provide any comments to Reuters regarding the timing and magnitude of the impending staff reductions.
The report elaborates on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s allocation of significant funds into artificial intelligence as he endeavors to reshape the company around this technology. These layoffs align with a broader trend observed among prominent U.S. corporations this year. Amazon has recently cut 30,000 corporate positions, approximately 10% of its white-collar workforce, while fintech firm Block downsized nearly half of its employees in February. Executives from these companies attributed the downsizing to efficiency improvements driven by AI.
As per data from Layoffs.fyi, a platform monitoring global tech job cuts, 73,212 workers have been laid off this year, contrasting with 153,000 in the entirety of 2024.
The ongoing layoffs at Meta mark the most significant since the restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023, referred to as the “year of efficiency,” which saw the elimination of approximately 21,000 roles. During that period, Meta was facing plummeting stock prices and struggling with unsustainable growth assumptions stemming from the Covid-19 period.
Despite heavy investments in AI, Meta is currently in a strong financial position, having generated over $200 billion in revenue last year and a $60 billion profit. As of December 31, Meta had a global workforce of nearly 79,000 employees.
