Meta is planning major layoffs. It’s because of AI
The cuts will reach one fifth of the workforce
Reuters reports on the plans of Meta’s management. These are layoffs that may cover up to 20% of the entire staff. The decision is not final yet. The exact start date of the cuts remains unknown.
A company spokesman described these reports as speculation. At the end of last year, Meta employed almost 79,000 people. A 20% reduction means several thousand employees will lose their jobs. These will be the largest cuts since the turn of 2022 and 2023. Then the company laid off a total of 21,000 people.
Artificial intelligence generates costs
The main reason for the planned layoffs are the huge expenses. Mark Zuckerberg focuses on the development of artificial intelligence. Meta plans to invest $600 billion in data centers by 2028.
The giant is also taking over other entities from the industry. It recently bought the Moltbook platform and the Chinese startup Manus. At the same time, Meta’s president notices an increase in work efficiency. The tasks of large teams can now be performed by one person with the support of algorithms.
Problems with new models
Other technology companies are taking similar steps. Amazon laid off 16,000 workers in January. Block cut its staff by half. Another reason was the development of tools based on artificial intelligence.
The meta is also struggling with technical problems. Last year’s Llama 4 models were met with criticism, and the company abandoned the release of the largest version called Behemoth. The new Avocado model also does not meet internal expectations.
