Meta is cutting about 8,000 jobs this week, continuing a series of workforce reductions. The company also abandoned plans to fill 6,000 open roles, as stated in an internal memo.
These layoffs follow smaller cuts earlier in the year—around 1,000 in January from Reality Labs and hundreds more in March—as Meta moves away from third-party contractors handling content moderation. While the company has not specified which teams will be affected, current and former employees say the reductions aim to redirect resources toward artificial intelligence.
No apology this time
When Meta laid off 11,000 employees in late 2022, CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged responsibility, calling the pandemic-era hiring a mistake. By early 2023, he described the cuts as part of a “year of efficiency.”
This time, there was no public acknowledgment of fault. The memo announcing the latest layoffs stated the reductions were needed to balance other investments, particularly in AI. Meta did not provide further comment.
Capital expenditures for 2026 may reach $145 billion, a $10 billion increase from earlier projections, as spending on AI infrastructure accelerates. During the first-quarter earnings call, finance chief Susan Li said leadership remains uncertain about the company’s ideal size, noting that compute needs for AI projects have been consistently underestimated.
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Internal unease grows
Employees describe growing uncertainty within Meta. Some anticipate additional layoffs in August and later this year, based on accounts from current and former staff who requested anonymity.
Tech layoffs have risen sharply in 2026, with nearly 110,000 jobs cut across 137 companies so far, according to Layoffs.fyi. If the current pace continues, this year could near the 260,000 layoffs recorded in 2023, when many firms scaled back after pandemic-driven hiring. Cisco, for instance, announced fewer than 4,000 job cuts last week while increasing its AI infrastructure guidance, a move that boosted its stock by 13%.
Umesh Ramakrishnan, chief strategy officer at executive search firm Kingsley Gate, said investors now expect companies to replace workers with AI. “Shareholders are growing impatient with firms that don’t,” he said. That expectation is reshaping how tech giants operate, even as their stock prices rise.
The layoffs begin Wednesday.
Analysts note that weak sales outlooks in other sectors have also pressured companies to reduce costs, though Meta’s focus remains on reallocating resources rather than addressing revenue shortfalls.
