Meta Cuts Workforce by 10% While Focusing on AI

Meta Reduces Workforce While Investing Heavily in AI

Meta has announced the elimination of 8,000 positions, representing 10% of its workforce, as well as the abandonment of 6,000 vacant positions. This decision, communicated internally on April 23, affects all of the group's platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, as well as its core operations. At the same time, Meta plans to invest between $115 and $135 billion in artificial intelligence by 2026.

Janelle Gale, Meta's Chief Human Resources Officer, explained in an internal memo that these job cuts aim to "manage the company more efficiently and offset the group's investments." Although AI is not explicitly mentioned as the cause of these layoffs, Mark Zuckerberg had previously emphasized that projects that once required large teams can now be accomplished by talented individuals, thanks to AI.

Strategic Investments and Technological Innovations

Between the end of 2023 and the end of 2025, Meta's workforce had increased by more than 11,000 employees. In December, the group had 78,865 employees, according to documents filed with the SEC. In February, Meta struck a deal with AMD for the purchase of millions of chips, an investment of at least $60 billion.

Meta's revenue grew by 24% in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase that Zuckerberg attributes to investments in AI, which have improved advertising targeting and content recommendations.

The Model Capability Initiative and Internal Data Collection

Two days before the announcement of the layoffs, Meta informed its American employees about the implementation of a new internal tool, the Model Capability Initiative. This tool collects employees' mouse movements and keyboard strokes to train the group's AI models. It operates on a list of professional applications and websites, taking screenshots to contextualize the data.

Mark Zuckerberg expressed his ambition to develop AI products capable of acting as a "personal superintelligence" for billions of users. He stated that Meta has the necessary resources to build the massive infrastructure required for these technologies.

An Industry Trend Towards Efficiency

In January, other giants like Amazon and Block also linked job cuts to a quest for efficiency. Meta had already launched a social plan in 2022, eliminating 11,000 positions, followed by 10,000 additional cuts in March 2023. Amazon announced 16,000 layoffs in January 2026, and Block reduced its workforce by 40% in February.

Mark Zuckerberg stated that smaller teams, supported by AI, can accomplish the work of entire departments. By 2025, Meta had spent $72 billion on AI and plans to double that amount in 2026. Although AI is not officially designated as the cause of the job cuts, the correlation between increased investments in AI and workforce reductions is notable.