Meta Prepares 8,000 Layoffs to Offset AI Infrastructure Investments

Meta plans to cut 10% of its workforce, or about 8,000 employees, and will not fill 6,000 open roles, Bloomberg reported Thursday (April 23), citing a memo the company sent to employees. The company will announce the layoffs on May 20, according to the report. Meta announced the layoffs earlier than it had intended because details of the plan had already leaked. Bloomberg said Reuters reported on the plan earlier this month. “We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” the memo said, per the report. Reached by PYMNTS, Meta declined to comment on the report. Both the Bloomberg report and the earlier Reuters one attributed the layoffs to the company’s effort to offset the investments it has been making in artificial intelligence infrastructure. PYMNTS reported in March that plans to spend between $115 billion and $135 billion this year as it races to construct data centers, chips and other AI infrastructure. This level of spending puts it in the company of some of the biggest investors in AI infrastructure, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft. It was reported in January that Meta was cutting 10% of the jobs in its Reality Labs unit, which employed about 15,000 people. That move was characterized as part of a larger plan by the company to reduce its focus on virtual reality products as it concentrates on other AI wearables. In March, Meta said that over…

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