Meta is laying off 8,000 more employees globally, representing 10% of its workforce.
A 10% reduction in employees is comparable to the controversial reduction of federal employees at the behest of DOGE.
But Meta’s 2026 layoffs are more than that. They follow previous layoffs of 11,000 in 2022 (13% of its workforce then) and 10,000 in 2023.
- 8,000 in 2026
- 10,000 in 2023
- 11,000 in 2022
- = 29,000 total
According to news reports, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent a memo to employees attributing the recent round of layoffs to prioritize AI investments and ‘deliver “personal superintelligence” to the average consumer.”
But Zuckerberg isn’t the only one using AI as the excuse for layoffs.
This tweet compiles a few other companies that have done so as well — and rightfully questions whether AI is just a convenient scapegoat for firing workers:
Perhaps Zuckerberg’s own overspending on the failed $80 billion metaverse project, as well as his lavish recruiting offers in the upwards of $300 million pay packages or more to hire AI researchers in 2025 contributed more to the cost-cutting pressures he felt the company faced.
Tech Companies Should Put a Moratorium on Layoffs
Call me naive but I think tech companies, especially Big Tech like Meta, need to put a moratorium on layoffs for the foreseeable future. Or, even better, pivot and start hiring more workers.
Why are college graduates booing AI at graduation ceremonies? Probably a host of reasons.
But it can’t help that, as Business Insider correctly put it, “CEOs are telling workers to embrace AI. Yet more companies are pointing to the technology when they talk about layoffs, restructurings, and hiring slowdowns.”
