NEWS

Meta lays off thousands of employees to offset AI investments

by | May 21, 2026

Photo of Mark Zuckerberg in front of background of Meta logo.

Meta says it needs to “offset the other investments we’re making.” | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Meta has reportedly notified thousands of employees that they’ve been laid off as the company attempts to compensate for its hefty AI investments. In an email from Meta management shared by Business Insider, impacted staffers were told that the planned headcount reduction was part of the company’s “continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making.”

Reports of an upcoming wave of layoffs started circulating in March, though at that time Meta was believed to be cutting up to 20 percent of its total company headcount. According to a recent memo shared in May, the layoffs are now …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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