Reuters reports that Meta is contemplating substantial job cuts, potentially impacting over a fifth of its employees, according to Reuters.
The potential job reductions might enable the Facebook parent company to balance its considerable investments in AI infrastructure, alongside its acquisitions and recruitment efforts in the AI sector. A recent filing indicated Meta had approximately 79,000 employees by December 31.
In a statement, a Meta spokesperson dismissed the report as “speculative reporting about theoretical approaches.”
This news emerges amidst widespread layoffs across the tech industry — including recent cuts by Block — which companies attribute to AI-driven automation. However, critics and figures such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman argue that many of these reductions constitute “AI-washing,” where executives use AI as cover for underlying problems like excessive hiring during the pandemic.
Meta previously conducted layoffs of comparable magnitude in November 2022, when it eliminated 11,000 positions, and again in March 2023, with an additional 10,000 job cuts.