Meta will lay off approximately 8,000 employees in May, representing 10 percent of its workforce, according to a company memo. The company will also close around 6,000 open roles.
The cuts follow a series of significant investments by Meta in artificial intelligence, including spending to hire top talent and build new data centers. In January, Meta forecast capital expenditures of $115 billion to $135 billion in 2026, a sharp increase from its $72.22 billion projection for 2025. The company said the spending increase is to support its Meta Superintelligence Labs efforts and its core business.
Earlier this year, Meta announced layoffs affecting hundreds of employees in recruiting, social media, and sales teams, as well as cuts impacting about 10 percent of its Reality Labs division.
Janelle Gale, Meta's chief people officer:
"We are doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we're making. This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here."
Affected employees will be notified on May 20th.
Janelle Gale:
"I know this leaves everyone with nearly a month of ambiguity which is incredibly unsettling. As we're still working through the details we aren't able to share much more until later in May."
A report last week indicated further layoffs are planned for the second half of 2026, and a March report suggested Meta was considering laying off 20 percent or more of the company. Source: TheVerge