Meta to lay off 10% of its staff: What we know

Meta cutting 10% of its workforce

Meta is reducing its workforce by approximately 10%, cutting 8,000 positions and leaving another 6,000 vacant roles unfilled.

MENLO PARK, Calif. - Meta, the Menlo Park-based parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced this week that it will reduce its workforce by about 10% as it shifts its focus toward artificial intelligence.

Thousands of jobs

By the numbers:

In a memo sent to employees, company executives confirmed the elimination of 8,000 jobs. 

Additionally, the tech giant plans to leave 6,000 currently vacant positions unfilled. 

The move is part of a broader strategy to make the company more efficient and, according to the memo, to "allow us to offset the other investments we're making."

AI ‘arms race’ 

What they're saying:

Industry analysts say those investments are centered almost entirely on an "AI arms race." 

Tech companies, including Meta, have spent an estimated $700 billion on artificial intelligence this year, funding the development of new products, specialized infrastructure, and massive data centers.

Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors he planned to spend between $115 billion and $135 billion on AI at Meta this year alone.

However, some experts question the long-term impact of trading human staff for technology.

"They have to get that money from somewhere. They can't keep borrowing it," said Marcus Mossberger, a workforce strategy expert. "They’ve taken it from payroll... which honestly, I think is a little bit short-sighted because I think they're going to need a lot of those people. That institutional knowledge, that intellectual capital, has a lot of value."

What's next:

Meta plans to notify impacted workers on May 20. 

To assist with the transition, the company stated it will provide outgoing employees with at least 16 weeks of severance pay.