Meta cuts 8,000 jobs while raising AI spending to $145B

Meta plans to cut approximately 8,000 jobs starting May 20, 2026, while simultaneously increasing its AI infrastructure spending to a record $125–$145 billion for the year. The layoffs, representing roughly 10% of the workforce, come at a time of strong financial performance: Q1 2026 revenue hit $56.31 billion with net income of $26.8 billion. Rather than cutting due to losses, Meta is reallocating headcount toward AI compute and the Llama model ecosystem, including massive purchases of Nvidia GPUs. The reductions are expected to hit recruiting, customer support, content moderation, and non-AI product teams hardest, while remaining staff consolidate into AI-focused pods under Meta's Superintelligence Labs division led by Alexandr Wang.

Inside the company, morale is low. Employees created countdown websites to track the layoff date, and an Instagram worker told WIRED that “everyone is unhappy.” Adding to the tension is a new internal tool called the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), installed on US employees' laptops, which logs keystrokes, clicks, and screenshots to train AI agents for white-collar tasks. CTO Andrew Bosworth reportedly belittled privacy concerns raised by staff, though Meta says safeguards protect sensitive data. The broader trend reflects Big Tech: 110,000 tech workers have been laid off across 137 companies in 2026 as firms like Oracle, Amazon, and Cisco also slash headcount to fund AI capex.