Meta Plans Layoffs of Up to 20% of Workforce to Fund AI Infrastructure Push

Quick Facts

• Meta is planning layoffs affecting up to 20% of its 79,000-person workforce, roughly 16,000 employees
• The cuts would help offset $115-135 billion in planned 2026 capital expenditures for AI infrastructure
• This would be Meta’s largest restructuring since its ‘year of efficiency’ cuts in 2022-2023

Meta is reportedly preparing sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of its workforce as the company shifts resources toward massive artificial intelligence infrastructure investments.

The potential cuts would impact roughly 16,000 of Meta’s 79,000 employees as of December 31. Top Meta executives have told senior leaders to start planning workforce reductions, though no final date or exact numbers have been set, according to reports.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone called the reports “speculative reporting about theoretical approaches,” declining to confirm the layoff plans.

The workforce reduction would help Meta offset aggressive spending on AI infrastructure. The company guided for 2026 capital expenditures of $115 billion to $135 billion and plans to spend $600 billion on U.S. infrastructure through 2028.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in January that “projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person” due to AI efficiency gains. The layoffs reflect Meta’s strategy to streamline operations while relying increasingly on AI tools for internal tasks.

Meta has already cut about 1,000 employees from its Reality Labs division earlier in 2026. The company previously laid off 11,000 workers in November 2022 and another 10,000 jobs four months later during its “year of efficiency” restructuring.

The potential layoffs come as Meta makes major AI investments. The company has offered pay packages worth hundreds of millions over four years to recruit top AI researchers. Recent acquisitions include social networking platform Moltbook and at least $2 billion for Chinese AI startup Manus.

Meta is building a new 2,250-acre Louisiana facility called Hyperion, estimated to cost $10 billion and provide 5 gigawatts of computing power. Zuckerberg said Meta plans to build “tens of gigawatts this decade, and hundreds of gigawatts or more over time.”

Meta stock fell 3.8% to $613.71 on the day of the layoff reports. The company’s Q4 2025 revenue rose 24% year-over-year to $59.9 billion, but shares have faced pressure in early 2026 as investors weigh AI spending against uncertain returns.

The move follows broader tech industry layoffs in 2026, with over 45,000 tech jobs cut globally. Amazon eliminated 16,000 positions in January, while Block cut nearly half its staff, with CEO Jack Dorsey citing AI tools’ growing capabilities.

Read more: Meta is reportedly laying off up to 20 percent of its staff