Meta plans to cut 20% of workforce as AI infrastructure costs and efficiency gains reshape company

Exclusive: Meta planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, March 13 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O), opens new tab is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalized, the people said. Top executives have recently signaled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare back, two of the people said. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to disclose the cuts. Meta did not immediately comment. If Meta settles on the 20% ⁠figure, the layoffs will be the company's most significant since a restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023 that it dubbed the "year of efficiency." It employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, according to its latest filing. The company laid off 11,000 staffers in November 2022, or around 13% of its workforce at the time. Around four months later, it announced it was cutting another 10,000 jobs. ZUCKERBERG FOCUSING ON GENERATIVE AI Over the last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing Meta to compete more forcefully in generative AI. The company has offered huge pay packages, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars over four years, to court top AI researchers to a new superintelligence team. The company has said it plans to invest $600 billion to build data centers by 2028. Earlier this week, it acquired Moltbook, a social ⁠networking platform built for AI agents. Meta is also spending at least $2 billion to buy Chinese AI startup Manus, Reuters previously reported. Zuckerberg has alluded to efficiency gains from the investments, saying in January he was starting to see "projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person." Meta's plans reflect a broader pattern among major U.S. companies, particularly in tech, this year. Executives have pointed to recent improvements in ⁠AI systems as one reason for the changes. In January, Amazon confirmed it would cut some 16,000 jobs, amounting to nearly 10% of its workforce. Last month, the fintech company Block chopped nearly half of its staff, with CEO Jack Dorsey explicitly pointing to AI tools and their growing capability to help companies ⁠do more with smaller teams. Meta's planned AI investments follow a series of setbacks with its Llama 4 models last year, including criticism that it provided misleading results on the benchmarks it used for early versions. It abandoned the release of the largest version ⁠of that model, called Behemoth, which had been due out in the summer. The superintelligence team has been working to reassert the company's standing this year by building a new model called Avocado, but the performance of that model has also lagged expectations. Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Jeff Horwitz in San Francisco and Katie Paul in New York; editing by Kenneth Li, Rod Nickel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Meta reportedly plans sweeping layoffs as AI costs increase

Sources tell Reuters layoffs could affect 20% or more of company as plans reflect broader tensions within big tech Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalized, the people said. Top executives have recently signaled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare back, two of the people said. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to disclose the cuts. Meta did not immediately comment. If Meta settles on the 20% figure, the layoffs will be the company's most significant since a restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023 that it dubbed the "year of efficiency." It employed nearly 79,000 people as of 31 December, according to its latest filing. The company laid off 11,000 staffers in November 2022, or about 13% of its workforce at the time. Around four months later, it announced it was cutting another 10,000 jobs. Over the last year, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing Meta to compete more forcefully in generative AI. The company has offered huge pay packages, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars over four years, to court top AI researchers to a new superintelligence team. The company has said it plans to invest $600bn to build data centers by 2028. Earlier this week, it acquired Moltbook, a social networking platform built for AI agents. Meta is also spending at least $2bn to buy Chinese AI startup Manus, Reuters previously reported. Zuckerberg has alluded to efficiency gains from the investments, saying in January he was starting to see "projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person". Meta's plans reflect a broader pattern among major US companies, particularly in tech, this year. Executives have pointed to recent improvements in AI systems as one reason for the changes. In January, Amazon confirmed it would cut some 16,000 jobs, amounting to nearly 10% of its workforce. Last month, the fintech company Block chopped nearly half of its staff, with CEO Jack Dorsey explicitly pointing to AI tools and their growing capability to help companies do more with smaller teams. Meta's planned AI investments follow a series of setbacks with its Llama 4 models last year, including criticism that it provided misleading results on the benchmarks it used for early versions. It abandoned the release of the largest version of that model, called Behemoth, which had been due out in the summer. The superintelligence team has been working to reassert the company's standing this year by building a new model called Avocado, but the performance of that model has also lagged expectations.

Meta planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount - The Economic Times

Top executives have recently signaled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how ⁠to ⁠pare back, two of the people said. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to disclose the cuts.Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalized, the people said. Top executives have recently signaled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how ⁠to ⁠pare back, two of the people said. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to disclose the cuts. Meta did not immediately comment. If Meta settles on the 20% figure, the layoffs will be the company's most significant since a restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023 that it dubbed the "year of efficiency." It employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, according to its latest filing. The company laid off 11,000 staffers in November 2022, or around 13% of its workforce at the time. Around four months later, it announced it was cutting another 10,000 ⁠jobs. Zuckerberg focussing on Generative AI Over the last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing Meta to compete more forcefully in generative AI. The company has offered huge pay packages, some worth hundreds of millions of ⁠dollars over four years, to court top AI researchers to a new superintelligence team. The company has said it plans to invest $600 billion to build data centers by 2028. Earlier this week, it acquired Moltbook, a social networking platform built for AI agents. Meta is also spending at least $2 billion to buy Chinese AI startup Manus, Reuters previously reported. Zuckerberg has alluded to efficiency gains from the investments, saying in January he was starting to see "projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person." Meta's plans reflect a broader pattern among major U.S. companies, particularly in tech, this year. Executives have pointed to recent improvements in AI systems as one reason for the changes. In January, Amazon confirmed it would cut some 16,000 jobs, amounting to nearly 10% of its workforce. Last month, the fintech company Block chopped nearly ⁠half of its staff, with CEO Jack Dorsey explicitly pointing to AI tools and their growing capability to help companies do more with smaller teams. Meta's planned AI investments follow a series of setbacks with its Llama 4 models last year, including criticism that it provided misleading results on the benchmarks it used for early versions. It abandoned the release of the largest version of that model, called Behemoth, which had been due out in the summer. The superintelligence team has been working to reassert the company's standing this year by building a new model called Avocado, but the performance of that model has also lagged expectations.

Meta May Cut 20% Of Workforce As Mark Zuckerberg Doubles Down On Costly AI Push And Data Center Spending: Report - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

A timeline for the potential layoffs has not been finalized, and the final scale of the cuts remains undecided, Reuters reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments. Executives have reportedly begun informing senior leaders to start preparing plans for possible reductions. In a statement to Reuters, a Meta spokesperson described the report as "speculative reporting about theoretical approaches." Meta had about 79,000 employees as of Dec. 31, according to its latest filings. AI Spending Driving Cost Cuts The potential layoffs come as Meta sharply increases investment in AI. The company plans to spend about $600 billion on data center infrastructure by 2028 and has been offering lucrative compensation packages to recruit leading AI researchers for a new superintelligence team. Meta's move mirrors a wider trend among major U.S. companies. Price Action: Shares of Meta closed Friday down 3.83% at $613.71. It slipped another 0.45% to $610.96 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate that Meta is showing weakness across the short, medium, and long-term trends, although the company's Quality score ranks in the 89th percentile. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Image via Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

AI vs Jobs: Meta Considers Cutting Thousands of Roles to Fund AI Expansion

Meta Plans Major Layoffs to Fund AI Expansion as Tech Industry Restructures Workforce Artificial intelligence is changing the technology industry quickly. Many tech companies are now focusing more on AI development. This shift is also affecting jobs across the sector. Meta Platforms is reportedly considering cutting thousands of roles. The reason it has stated includes its increased spending on artificial intelligence. The company aims to expand its investments in AI tools, data centers, and computing resources. The development reflects a wider trend in the tech world. Multiple companies are reorganizing their employee base to establish AI research and development capabilities. Companies that dedicate billions to technology growth also proceed to downsize their workforces in different departments.

Meta planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, March 13 (Reuters) - Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalized, the people said. Top executives have recently signaled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare back, two of the people said. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to disclose the cuts. Meta did not immediately comment. If Meta settles on the 20% figure, the layoffs will be the company's most significant since a restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023 that it dubbed the "year of efficiency." It employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, according to its latest filing. The company laid off 11,000 staffers in November 2022, or around 13% of its workforce at the time. Around four months later, it announced it was cutting another 10,000 jobs. ZUCKERBERG FOCUSING ON GENERATIVE AI Over the last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing Meta to compete more forcefully in generative AI. The company has offered huge pay packages, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars over four years, to court top AI researchers to a new superintelligence team. The company has said it plans to invest $600 billion to build data centers by 2028. Earlier this week, it acquired Moltbook, a social networking platform built for AI agents. Meta is also spending at least $2 billion to buy Chinese AI startup Manus, Reuters previously reported. Zuckerberg has alluded to efficiency gains from the investments, saying in January he was starting to see "projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person." Meta's plans reflect a broader pattern among major U.S. companies, particularly in tech, this year. Executives have pointed to recent improvements in AI systems as one reason for the changes. In January, Amazon confirmed it would cut some 16,000 jobs, amounting to nearly 10% of its workforce. Last month, the fintech company Block chopped nearly half of its staff, with CEO Jack Dorsey explicitly pointing to AI tools and their growing capability to help companies do more with smaller teams. Meta's planned AI investments follow a series of setbacks with its Llama 4 models last year, including criticism that it provided misleading results on the benchmarks it used for early versions. It abandoned the release of the largest version of that model, called Behemoth, which had been due out in the summer. The superintelligence team has been working to reassert the company's standing this year by building a new model called Avocado, but the performance of that model has also lagged expectations. (Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Jeff Horwitz in San Francisco and Katie Paul in New York; editing by Kenneth Li, Rod Nickel) By Katie Paul, Jeff Horwitz and Deepa Seetharaman

Meta plans to lay off 20% of staff as AI costs rise: Report

Meta is reportedly planning a major round of layoffs that could affect about 20 per cent of its workforce as the company increases spending on artificial intelligence and looks for ways to become more efficient. People familiar with the matter, cited by Reuters, said the company has not yet set a timeline for the job cuts, and the exact number of affected employees has not been finalised. However, senior executives have recently informed other leaders within the company to begin planning how teams could be reduced. If the company proceeds with layoffs affecting 20 per cent of its staff, it would mark the largest workforce reduction since the company's restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023, as per the report. Meta employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, according to its latest filings. 'This is speculative reporting about theoretical approaches,' Meta spokesperson Andy Stone ⁠said. Also read: From garage to the world: Tim Cook pens emotional note before Apple turns 50 Meta previously laid off 11,000 employees in November 2022, or roughly 13 per cent of its workforce. About four months later, the company announced another round of cuts affecting around 10,000 employees. Over the past year, Zuckerberg has pushed the company to compete more aggressively in generative AI. Meta has also offered large compensation packages, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars over four years, to attract leading AI researchers to its superintelligence team. Also read: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI is not popular in US, here's why Meta intends to invest about $600 billion to build new data centres by 2028. Earlier this week, Meta acquired a social networking platform designed for AI agents called Moltbook. Meta is also spending at least $2 billion to acquire Chinese AI startup Manus, according to the report.