Meta is planning to kick off its first round of massive layoffs this year on May 20, three sources familiar with the sweeping changes told Reuters. This comes after last month’s report that the tech giant had chalked up plans to cut down 20% or more of its global workforce. The initial round of the intended Meta layoffs is reportedly expected to hit about 10% of the company’s global workforce, accounting for approximately 8,000 employees.
Meta 2026 layoffs – What we know so far
Another round of layoffs is supposedly slated for the second half of 2026, the report added. The exact date and size of the purported job cuts remain under wraps at the moment. Sources further shared the plans could be revised depending on developments on the company’s artificial intelligence front, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg is investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI.
Meta has yet to officially respond to the claims about the timing or scope of the planned job cuts.
As part of the restructuring process, some employees would be transferred into Meta Small Business, a unit set up last month, one of the sources told Reuters. According to the California-based company’s recent filing, Meta employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, 2025.
Biggest Meta layoffs since previous restructuring
Amid the ongoing trend of layoffs in the tech industry, Layoffs.fyi, a website tracking tech job cuts around the world, reported that over 73,000 employees have already lost their jobs so far this year.
Meanwhile, Meta’s layoffs planned for 2026 are being billed as the Mark Zuckerberg-led giant’s most impactful since the company witnessed a shakeup in late 2022 and early 2023, when about 21,000 jobs were eliminated. Although the company was struggling to come to terms with its stock’s freefall while correcting assumptions it had made about COVID-era growth, the current wave of layoffs is more focussed on the tech scene’s AI makeover.
Just earlier this week, The Financial Times also reported that Facebook and Instagram’s parent company is building an AI version of Zuckerberg so that employees could feel more connected to the tech titan. This comes at a time when the company’s founder and CEO is doubling down on his AI investments despite many others warning of a potential bubble in the industry.
Earlier this year, the company told financial analysts during a call about Meta’s 2025 financial results that it expects to spend up to $135 billion this year on AI-related infrastructure. This marks a significant, two-fold jump from the $72 billion Meta spent last year on such projects.