Highlights
- Meta is reportedly considering cutting at least 20 per cent of its nearly 79,000-strong workforce to offset rising AI costs.
- If confirmed the layoffs would be Meta's largest since it cut 11,000 jobs in November 2022.
- Meta has called the reports "speculative" and about "theoretical approaches".
If the cuts go ahead they would be the biggest job losses at Meta since November 2022 when the company sacked 11,000 workers, about 13 per cent of its staff at the time ,followed by another 10,000 cuts a few months later.
Meta had nearly 79,000 employees at the end of December last year meaning a 20 per cent cut could mean around 15,800 people losing their jobs.
AI behind cuts
The possible job losses come as Meta spends more and more money on AI technology and tries to get more work done with fewer people by using AI tools.
This is happening across the whole tech industry. Amazon cut around 16,000 jobs in January with more cuts expected to follow after already cutting around 14,000 office jobs in October — bringing its total job cuts to roughly 30,000.
Amazon said the cuts were driven by AI efficiency gains and wider changes in how the company works.
Meta's possible job cuts show how AI is changing the way big tech companies are run. Firms are spending huge amounts building AI systems while at the same time cutting the number of staff they need.
