Meta is considering layoffs that would remove 20% or more of its 79,000-person workforce — roughly 16,000 positions — according to three people familiar with the planning 1. A company spokesperson characterised the reporting as "speculative" and described the figures as "theoretical approaches" 2. Meta's share price rose approximately 3% on the day the reports surfaced 3.
The cuts coincide with Meta's decision to nearly double AI capital expenditure to $115–135 billion in 2026, up from $72 billion in 2025 5. Each dollar redirected from payroll to GPU clusters funds infrastructure, not headcount. The scale of the commitment — the largest single-year technology investment in corporate history — makes the transition difficult to reverse.
If confirmed, the reduction would be the largest single AI-justified workforce cut at a major technology company. Meta conducted layoffs totalling 21,000 positions across two rounds in 2022–23. Those were framed as corrections to pandemic-era overhiring. This round is framed differently: not trimming excess, but funding a pivot.
The 3% share-price rise follows a pattern visible across the sector. Block's stock surged 22–25% after CEO Jack Dorsey eliminated 40% of its workforce on 26 February, citing AI. Equity markets are pricing AI-justified layoffs as margin expansion. Whether Meta's potential cuts reflect genuine AI-driven productivity gains or conventional cost optimisation — what the Yale Budget Lab has termed "AI washing" 4 — remains contested.
