Authors: Katie Paul, Jeff Horwitz, and Deepa Setharaman
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, March 13 (Reuters) – Meta is planning large-scale layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company’s workforce, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure and prepare for greater efficiencies brought by artificial intelligence-assisted workers.
A date for the cuts has not yet been set, nor has the magnitude of the cuts been finalized, people familiar with the matter said.
Top executives have recently communicated those plans to Meta’s other senior leaders and told them to start planning how to cut expenses, two people familiar with the matter said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the cuts.
“This is a speculative report about a theoretical approach,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said in response to a question about the plan.
If Meta settles on the 20% figure, the layoffs would be the largest since the company’s restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023, known as the “efficiency years.” The company employed nearly 79,000 people as of Dec. 31, according to its latest filing.
The company laid off 11,000 employees in November 2022, approximately 13% of its workforce at the time. About four months later, the company announced it would cut another 10,000 jobs.
Zuckerberg focuses on generative artificial intelligence
Over the last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing Meta to compete more vigorously in the field of generative artificial intelligence. The company is offering huge pay packages, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars over four years, to lure top artificial intelligence researchers to join its new superintelligence team.
The company said it plans to invest $600 billion in data centers by 2028. Earlier this week, the company acquired Moltbook, a social networking platform built for artificial intelligence agents. According to previous reports by Reuters, Meta also spent at least US$2 billion to acquire Chinese artificial intelligence startup Manus.
Zuckerberg cited the efficiency gains from the investment, saying in January that he was starting to see “projects that used to require large teams now being done by one very talented person.”
Meta’s plans reflect a broader pattern among major U.S. companies this year, especially technology companies. Executives cited recent improvements in artificial intelligence systems as one of the reasons for the changes.
In January, Amazon confirmed it would cut about 16,000 jobs, or nearly 10% of its workforce. Last month, fintech company Block laid off nearly half its workforce, with CEO Jack Dorsey making clear that artificial intelligence tools and their increasing capabilities can help companies do more with smaller teams.
