Meta plans to slash 20% of workforce to offset AI costs: Report

The report said top executives at the tech giant have recently communicated the potential plan to senior leaders and asked them to begin preparing strategies to reduce staff numbers, citing sources familiar with the matter.

However, the timeline for the possible layoffs remains unclear.

Responding to queries on the reported plan, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone described the report as “speculative about theoretical approaches.”

If implemented, the move would mark another major restructuring exercise for the company since its layoffs in late 2022 and early 2023, a period that Meta had described as the “year of efficiency.”

In November 2022, Meta cut 11,000 jobs, roughly 13 percent of its workforce, followed by another 10,000 layoffs four months later.

According to its latest regulatory filing, Meta employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31.

Over the past year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing the company to compete more aggressively in the generative AI race.

As part of that strategy, Meta has offered lucrative pay packages to attract top AI researchers for a new superintelligence team focused on developing advanced AI systems.

The company is also reportedly planning to invest $600 billion in building data centres by 2028. In addition, Meta has taken steps such as acquiring an AI-focused social networking platform called Moltbook and is reportedly spending $2 billion to acquire Chinese AI startup Manus.

Highlighting efficiency gains from these AI investments, Zuckerberg recently said he has begun seeing signs since January that “a single very talented person can accomplish a project that earlier required large teams.”