Meta Weighs Cutting 20 Percent of Workforce for AI

Meta is internally discussing layoffs that could affect up to 20% of its workforce - roughly 16,000 people out of 79,000 - as AI infrastructure costs continue to climb. Senior executives have been told to start planning cuts, though no final number or date has been set. Spokesperson Andy Stone called the reports "speculative," but the framing is familiar: Meta ran a nearly identical playbook during its 2022–2023 "year of efficiency" restructuring. The difference now is the justification - headcount is being traded directly for compute budget. Netflix, Amazon, and other major tech firms have also been trimming staff in 2026, often citing AI and automation as the driving logic behind leaner teams.