Meta Cut 8,000 Employees to Develop Artificial Intelligence

The American technology giant Meta, which owns the social networks Facebook, Instagram, and the WhatsApp messenger, announced its intention to lay off about 10% of its workforce, which amounts to approximately 8,000 people. There is a major reason behind this decision that has surprised the world: the company plans to spend billions of dollars on developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies instead of human professionals, BBC reports.

On Thursday, Meta management officially informed its employees about the upcoming layoffs. Furthermore, thousands of previously open vacancies that the company intended to fill will now remain vacant. The primary cause of this mass unemployment is Meta's massive investment in artificial intelligence—the company plans to spend $135 billion on AI projects this year alone. This is equivalent to the total amount the company directed toward AI over the previous three years combined.

At the beginning of the year, Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at a new wave of layoffs. He could not hide his astonishment after seeing the capabilities of artificial intelligence firsthand:

"Artificial intelligence has significantly increased employee productivity. Now we have reached a level where a single person can implement projects that previously required a large team. I think 2026 will be the year when AI starts to fundamentally change how we work," Zuckerberg said.

An official spokesperson for Meta confirmed the layoff plans but declined to provide more detailed comments.