Meta is cutting 8,000 jobs on May 20, roughly 10% of its workforce, with more layoffs coming later this year. Reuters first reported the cuts, which land as Zuckerberg goes all-in on artificial intelligence. The company has earmarked $135 billion in capital spending for 2026 alone, trying to keep pace with OpenAI and Anthropic. Sources told Reuters that Meta's layoff plans could change as its AI work progresses. Investors didn't flinch. The stock rose nearly 2% on the news.
The cuts aren't happening in a vacuum. Tech companies are shedding workers while pouring billions into AI. Snap cut 1,000 jobs this week, with CEO Evan Spiegel saying AI tools would help teams "reduce repetitive work." Amazon axed 30,000 corporate jobs last fall. Block CEO Jack Dorsey was blunt in an open letter after cutting his workforce: "Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes."
And then there's the Zuckerberg clone. Meta is reportedly building a photorealistic 3D AI version of its CEO that can chat with employees. The system combines Meta's Codec Avatars research with its Llama language models, using neural rendering to generate realistic facial expressions synced to AI-generated speech. Your boss's digital twin delivering feedback while your colleagues get pink slips is a hell of an image.
Meta had roughly 79,000 employees as of December 31. Last month, Reuters reported the company might cut over 20% of its total workforce this year, potentially hitting 15,000 people. A Meta spokesperson called that earlier report "speculative." The May 20 cuts are now confirmed.