Meta is reportedly preparing to cut almost 16,000 jobs worldwide, marking the largest workforce reduction in the company’s history. The proposed layoffs would affect about 20% of the company’s current staff, which stands at around 79,000 employees globally, reports Reuters. While the social media behemoth has not yet officially confirmed the numbers, internal discussions suggest that executives have been asked to develop reduction plans and prepare teams for a potential announcement.
The primary reason behind the layoffs appears to be Meta’s massive spending on AI infrastructure. The company has been investing heavily in AI hardware, cloud computing, and talent acquisition to compete with rivals like OpenAI and Google. Recently, the Mark Zuckerberg-led firm announced its latest $60 billion AI chip agreement with AMD.
Even last week, reports emerged that Meta acquired the AI agent social platform Moltbook to integrate its team into advanced AI projects. In 2025, the company bought Manus, an autonomous AI agent platform, for $2-3 billion, and also invested $14 billion in Scale AI, bringing its founder, Alexandr Wang, to lead Meta’s Superintelligence Labs. Earlier, the company had indicated that it could spend up to $135 billion on AI infrastructure alone in 2026. This surge in costs has pressured the company to reevaluate operational efficiency, including its workforce, while positioning itself to leverage AI-driven tools to automate tasks traditionally performed by humans.
This is not the first time the social media giant has reduced its workforce. However, if implemented, these cuts would surpass any previous reductions at Meta. Earlier in 2022, the company laid off 11,000 employees, accounting for 13 % of its workforce. Then in 2023, it cut about 10,000 positions and eliminated 5,000 unfilled roles as part of Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘year of efficiency’. And now, the current plan would likely exceed 15,000 positions in a single round, highlighting the scale of the firm’s transformation as it shifts toward AI-focused operations.
While the exact timing and scope of the layoffs remain uncertain, the report suggests that divisions less aligned with AI development may be disproportionately affected. Roles in administrative, non-technical, and legacy product teams are likely to face a higher risk, while AI-focused positions are expected to continue expanding despite the cost pressures. Meta has been reorganizing internally to consolidate AI teams and focus on initiatives like large language models, generative AI, and AI-powered wearables, including smartwatches.
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