Meta Platforms is preparing for a sweeping round of layoffs that could see as many as 16,000 employees lose their jobs in the coming months. The first phase is expected to begin on May 20, impacting around 8,000 workers, according to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter.
The layoffs, slated for the coming months of 2026, could become the company’s most significant restructuring exercise since its earlier “year of efficiency,” even as Mark Zuckerberg’s company doubles down on artificial intelligence and reshapes its workforce for a more automated future.
The planned cuts are expected to affect roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce in the initial phase alone. While the company has not officially confirmed the full extent of the layoffs, sources told Reuters that additional job reductions are likely later in 2026, potentially taking the total number of affected employees to around 16,000.
According to the report, Meta executives are still finalising the details of the job cuts based on productivity and AI progress of the employees.
The layoffs are not entirely unexpected. Meta’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has, over the past year, repeatedly emphasised the company’s ambition to become a leader in artificial intelligence, from generative tools to infrastructure that powers large-scale machine learning systems. To support this shift, Meta is reportedly planning massive capital expenditure, estimated at around $135 billion for the year, much of which is earmarked for AI-related investments such as data centres, chips, and software development.
If Meta proceeds with the layoffs, it will add to a series of job cuts at the company over the past few years. Meta’s current restructuring echoes its earlier round of layoffs in 2022 and 2023, when it cut approximately 21,000 jobs in response to slowing growth and the aftereffects of pandemic-era overexpansion. That period, which Zuckerberg dubbed the “year of efficiency,” was marked by a concerted effort to streamline operations, reduce layers of management, and improve financial discipline. The company was also dealing with declining stock performance and the realisation that its growth projections had been overly optimistic.
However, now the upcoming layoffs are part of a broader push to build a leaner organisation. Executives are said to be targeting fewer layers of management and greater reliance on AI-driven processes. Internally, Meta has already begun reorganising teams to align with its AI priorities. Engineers have been reassigned to projects focused on developing autonomous systems capable of writing code and handling complex tasks, while new units have been created to accelerate the rollout of AI-driven products.
Meta is not alone in this shift. The impact of these changes is being felt across the tech industry, where major players are cutting jobs while simultaneously increasing investment in AI. Amazon, for example, has reportedly eliminated around 30,000 corporate roles in recent months, representing nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce. Similarly, fintech firm Block has reduced its workforce significantly, with executives pointing to efficiency gains driven by AI as a key factor behind the cuts.
According to data from Layoffs.fyi highlights the scale of the change. According to the platform, more than 73,000 tech employees have been laid off globally so far this year across 95 companies.
Source: India Today