Meta plans to lay off approximately 8,000 employees on May 20, representing roughly 10% of its global workforce, as the company reorganizes around artificial intelligence, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.
The May 20 round marks the first of multiple planned reductions in 2026. Meta is preparing additional layoffs in the second half of the year, though the timing and scope of those cuts remain unsettled. Executives may adjust plans based on developments in AI capabilities, the sources said. Earlier reporting indicated the company has considered cuts reaching 20% of total staff across multiple waves, which would make the 2026 restructuring one of its largest since eliminating approximately 21,000 jobs during its 2022 and 2023 “year of efficiency.”
Meta employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, 2025.
AI Drives Restructuring
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is leading a major AI infrastructure investment push, with Meta’s annual capital expenditures projected to exceed $100 billion. The company has repositioned teams around the technology, moving engineers from across the organization into a new “Applied AI” unit focused on developing AI agents capable of writing code and executing complex tasks autonomously. Meta has also reorganized teams within its Reality Labs division and established a new Meta Small Business unit, with some employees transferring into that group as part of the broader restructuring.
Sector-Wide Trend
Meta’s reductions follow similar moves across the technology sector. Amazon trimmed approximately 30,000 corporate employees in recent months, and Block cut nearly half its staff in February. Both companies cited AI-driven efficiency gains as a factor. Industry tracker Layoffs.fyi has recorded 73,212 tech job losses so far in 2026, compared with 153,000 for all of 2024.
Meta reported more than $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit in 2025.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
