Meta Lays Off 8,000 Employees, Shifts Focus to AI, 10% Workforce Affected

Meta has started a major round of layoffs that will affect around 10 percent of its global workforce, or nearly 8,000 employees. The job cuts began this week and are being carried out in phases across different regions.

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Reports indicate that employees from the company’s integrity team, cybersecurity unit, and content design division are among those impacted. The integrity team is responsible for handling harmful content, misinformation, and hate speech across Meta’s platforms.

Employees in the United States who lose their jobs will receive 16 weeks of severance pay, along with an additional two weeks of pay for every year they have worked at the company.

AI Plans Drive Restructuring

The layoffs come as Meta increases its focus on artificial intelligence. The company has also cancelled plans to hire about 6,000 new employees and plans to move around 7,000 existing workers into AI-related roles.

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CEO Mark Zuckerberg has identified AI as a key priority for the company. Meta is investing heavily in AI infrastructure, data centres, and new AI products as it looks to strengthen its position in the rapidly growing market.

Read More: Cognizant Launches New Physical AI Platform for Enterprise Operations

The company expects its capital expenditure to reach between $125 billion and $145 billion this year, reflecting its large investment plans.

Employee Concerns Grow

The workforce reduction follows reports of declining employee morale. Concerns have increased after Meta introduced an AI data-tracking programme aimed at helping train its AI models.

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According to reports, more than 1,500 employees signed a petition opposing the use of their data for AI training. Some workers have also raised concerns about lower compensation growth and reduced annual pay increases.

Meta’s latest restructuring reflects a wider trend in the technology industry, where companies are cutting jobs in some areas while investing more heavily in artificial intelligence.

Several major technology firms have announced workforce reductions this year as they redirect resources toward AI development and automation.

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