Meta plans to cut about 8,000 jobs starting May 20, 2026

In short: Meta plans to lay off about 8,000 employees starting May 20, 2026, as it restructures the company to focus more on artificial intelligence.

What happened

Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, plans to cut roughly 8,000 jobs. That is about 10% of its workforce of 78,865 people. The first wave is set to begin May 20, 2026, and more cuts are expected in the second half of 2026.

The layoffs are expected to hit multiple areas, including Reality Labs, the Facebook social division, recruiting, sales, and global operations. California WARN Act filings, which are required notices to the state before certain layoffs, list 124 roles in Burlingame with an effective date of May 22 and 74 roles in Sunnyvale with an effective date of May 29.

These moves follow earlier reductions in 2026, including 1,000 to 1,500 Reality Labs jobs in January and 700 jobs across five divisions in March. Reports estimate Meta has cut roughly 25,000 roles since 2022. Meta is also planning to close about 6,000 open roles that it had not filled.

Why it matters

Meta is putting more of its money and people into AI. It plans to spend $115 to $135 billion in 2026 on AI infrastructure, meaning the data centers and computer chips that power AI (like building bigger factories for computers). Inside the company, teams are being reorganized into AI-focused groups under Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, and Meta has talked about using “AI agents,” which are AI helpers that can handle multi-step tasks like writing code. Meta’s next earnings report on April 29 may give early clues about how this shift is affecting the business.

Source: NYTimes