Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs in Workplace AI Restructure

Meta employees are bracing for significant organisational shifts, with the company preparing for another round of sizable layoffs.

Reuters reports a 10% workforce reduction effective Wednesday (20 May), equating to approximately 8,000 roles. The move signals a recalibration of operating models and cost structures as Meta accelerates its AI agenda.

Following the global layoffs, Meta is expected to implement sweeping changes to strengthen its AI workflows, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

“As org leaders worked on the changes, many of them incorporated AI native ​design principles into ​their new ⁠org structures,” says Janelle Gale, Chief People Officer at Meta, in the memo.

“We're now at the stage where many orgs can operate with ​a flatter structure with smaller teams of ​pods/cohorts ⁠that can move faster and with more ownership. We believe this will make us more productive and make ⁠the ​work more rewarding.”

Meta has additional layoffs planned for later in the year.

AI restructuring and hiring freeze

The job cuts form part of an agentic AI revolution, as big tech invests billions into AI compute. Meta has a planned capex of up to US$135bn in 2026 – double its 2025 expenditure.

The AI and social media giant has plans to move about 7,000 employees into new AI initiatives, while many managerial roles are to be eliminated. Around a fifth of Meta’s global workforce will be affected by layoffs and transfers.

Meta has closed 6,000 previously open roles, deepening an AI-led restructuring that has already eliminated tens of thousands of jobs across the company.

Over the past four years, Meta has laid off roughly 25,000 employees, according to Wired. Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 2026 will be “the year that AI dramatically changes the way we work," adding that projects that used to involve big teams are now being accomplished by “a single, very talented person”. 

Big tech job cuts

The trend extends well beyond Meta. Countless tech giants have slashed jobs in favour of AI-backed restructuring in recent months.

Amazon, Oracle, Block, Microsoft, Cisco and Google have all cut roles and slowed hiring as spending is redirected toward AI infrastructure.

Oracle has plans to lay off thousands of employees, with analysis from TD Cowen suggesting between 20,000 and 30,000 job cuts over the coming months.

For people leaders, this wave signals a sustained reallocation of investment from headcount to compute – demanding sharper workforce planning, targeted reskilling, and disciplined change management to capture productivity gains without eroding engagement.

Salesforce announced in 2025 that the company would halt hiring software engineers, attributing the decision to productivity improvements from AI tools in development workflows. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, has described agentic AI as “a new labour model, new productivity model and a new economic model". 

Atlassian has also announced plans to cut 10% of its employees, with AI changing how the company operates and the skills it needs for the future workforce.

Mike Cannon-Brookes, CEO of Atlassian, says: “It would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn't change the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas. It does.”

Rising employee unrest

Amid concerns about mass layoffs, employee sentiment at Meta is also being tested by a new monitoring tool: the Model Capability Initiative (MCI).

The system, designed to run on company computers and internal apps, logs activity including keystrokes, mouse movements and occasional screenshots.

Reuters notes that more than a thousand employees have signed a petition against the installation of tracking software, which they call “dystopian”.

For senior people leaders, the pushback highlights the tightrope between safeguarding productivity and preserving trust.

Clear governance, transparent communication and rigorous data stewardship will be essential as organisations weigh the value of granular telemetry against cultural, legal and reputational risk.