Meta outlined plans to cut about 8,000 jobs on Thursday as it invests heavily in artificial intelligence. The move comes as part of a broader tech-sector shift towards cost control, with Microsoft also weighing voluntary buyouts ahead of next week’s earnings reports.
Issued on: 24/04/2026 -
FRANCE 24
Meta announced plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce in order to invest more in AI. © Sebastien Bozon, AFP
Meta plans to cut a tenth of its workforce, looking for productivity gains from its remaining workers as it invests heavily in artificial intelligence.
Meta will lay off about 8,000 employees and leave thousands of other positions unfilled next month, a source told AFP.
The move comes as co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg makes a priority of delivering “superintelligence” in a costly AI race against rivals including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.
Reports on Thursday also indicated that Microsoft is looking to trim its ranks with voluntary buyouts of some US employees in an unprecedented move by the tech stalwart founded in 1975.
About seven percent of US employees at Microsoft were reported to be eligible for an offer aimed at workers who are senior director level or lower, whose years of employment and age add up to 70 or more, according to a CNBC report.
Microsoft, which has also been pouring billions of dollars into AI, declined to comment.
Meta and Microsoft are both set to report quarterly earnings next week.
Meta in January reported quarterly earnings that topped market expectations, as revenue grew along with investments in AI.
Meanwhile, costs tallied $35.15 billion, an increase of 40 percent from the same period a year earlier, the earnings report noted.
Capital expenses, including infrastructure such as data centres to power AI, were $22.14 billion in the quarter, according to the company.
Meta anticipated capital expenditures in the $115 billion to $135 billion range this fiscal year, driven by increased investment in Meta Superintelligence Labs and its core business.
“I’m looking forward to advancing personal superintelligence for people around the world in 2026,” Zuckerberg said on an earnings call.
Meta is locked in a bitter rivalry with other tech behemoths racing to invest heavily in AI, aiming to ensure the technology generates profits in the not-so-distant future.
Most analysts believe Meta will make the investment pay off by improving advertising efficiency and creating new opportunities, such as with its smart glasses through a partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica.
Meta is ramping up spending to record highs, announcing an array of multi-billion-dollar deals with AI partners and incentivising employees to be more productive by using AI agents for coding and other tasks, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Ives reasoned that more layoffs could be in store at Meta this year as part of a strategy to use AI to gain efficiencies.
“We believe that this is part of Meta’s strategy to increasing leverage AI tools to automate tasks that once required large teams, allowing the company to streamline operations and reduce costs,” Ives said in a note to investors.
“We are encouraged by management’s cost-cutting efforts thus far.”
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Meta plans to cut a tenth of its workforce, looking for productivity gains from its remaining workers as it invests heavily in artificial intelligence.
Meta will lay off about 8,000 employees and leave thousands of other positions unfilled next month, a source told AFP.
The move comes as co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg makes a priority of delivering “superintelligence” in a costly AI race against rivals including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.
Reports on Thursday also indicated that Microsoft is looking to trim its ranks with voluntary buyouts of some US employees in an unprecedented move by the tech stalwart founded in 1975.
About seven percent of US employees at Microsoft were reported to be eligible for an offer aimed at workers who are senior director level or lower, whose years of employment and age add up to 70 or more, according to a CNBC report.
Microsoft, which has also been pouring billions of dollars into AI, declined to comment.
Meta and Microsoft are both set to report quarterly earnings next week.
Meta in January reported quarterly earnings that topped market expectations, as revenue grew along with investments in AI.
Meanwhile, costs tallied $35.15 billion, an increase of 40 percent from the same period a year earlier, the earnings report noted.
Capital expenses, including infrastructure such as data centres to power AI, were $22.14 billion in the quarter, according to the company.
Meta anticipated capital expenditures in the $115 billion to $135 billion range this fiscal year, driven by increased investment in Meta Superintelligence Labs and its core business.
“I’m looking forward to advancing personal superintelligence for people around the world in 2026,” Zuckerberg said on an earnings call.
Meta is locked in a bitter rivalry with other tech behemoths racing to invest heavily in AI, aiming to ensure the technology generates profits in the not-so-distant future.
Most analysts believe Meta will make the investment pay off by improving advertising efficiency and creating new opportunities, such as with its smart glasses through a partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica.
Meta is ramping up spending to record highs, announcing an array of multi-billion-dollar deals with AI partners and incentivising employees to be more productive by using AI agents for coding and other tasks, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Ives reasoned that more layoffs could be in store at Meta this year as part of a strategy to use AI to gain efficiencies.
“We believe that this is part of Meta’s strategy to increasing leverage AI tools to automate tasks that once required large teams, allowing the company to streamline operations and reduce costs,” Ives said in a note to investors.
“We are encouraged by management’s cost-cutting efforts thus far.”
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Meta, Microsoft purge jobs amid AI build-up
Facebook's parent company said it would slash 10% of its workforce, while Microsoft is offering an early retirement scheme. The cuts come as both tech giants make massive investments in AI.
Social media giant Meta on Thursday announced plans to lay off about 8,000 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, as it seeks to scale up development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
The owner of social media platforms Facebookand Instagram, along with the messaging app Whatsapp, said in an internal memo that the first round of cuts is due on May 20. Along with the cuts, Meta said 6,000 further posts would be left unfilled.
Also on Thursday, US media reported that tech giant Microsoft was planning to offer voluntary early retirement buyouts for around 8.700 workers, or about 7% of its workforce.
Massive AI investment
The job cuts come as both companies increase spending on developing AI applications.
Meta has announced plans to develop "personal superintelligence," which CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said will tailor AI agents to the needs and wishes of individual users.
"Personal superintelligence that knows us deeply, understands our goals, and can help us achieve them will be by far the most useful. Personal devices like glasses that understand our context because they can see what we see, hear what we hear, and interact with us throughout the day will become our primary computing devices," Zuckerberg wrote in July 2025.
Meta has warned investors that expenses on infrastructure costs and hiring AI experts will grow to as much as $169 billion in 2026.
Microsoft is spending billions of dollars on expanding a global network of data centers that power cloud computing and AI systems like Copilot. Investor concerns about the costs and eventual profitability of data centers have weighed heavily on Microsoft's share price over the past 6 months.
The early retirement buyout program is a first for the legacy tech giant founded in 1975.
Edited by: Karl Sexton
Wesley Rahn Editor and reporter focusing on geopolitics and current affairs
DW with AP, AFP, dpa
24/04/2026 -
Facebook's parent company said it would slash 10% of its workforce, while Microsoft is offering an early retirement scheme. The cuts come as both tech giants make massive investments in AI.
Social media giant Meta on Thursday announced plans to lay off about 8,000 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, as it seeks to scale up development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
The owner of social media platforms Facebookand Instagram, along with the messaging app Whatsapp, said in an internal memo that the first round of cuts is due on May 20. Along with the cuts, Meta said 6,000 further posts would be left unfilled.
Also on Thursday, US media reported that tech giant Microsoft was planning to offer voluntary early retirement buyouts for around 8.700 workers, or about 7% of its workforce.
Massive AI investment
The job cuts come as both companies increase spending on developing AI applications.
Meta has announced plans to develop "personal superintelligence," which CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said will tailor AI agents to the needs and wishes of individual users.
"Personal superintelligence that knows us deeply, understands our goals, and can help us achieve them will be by far the most useful. Personal devices like glasses that understand our context because they can see what we see, hear what we hear, and interact with us throughout the day will become our primary computing devices," Zuckerberg wrote in July 2025.
Meta has warned investors that expenses on infrastructure costs and hiring AI experts will grow to as much as $169 billion in 2026.
Microsoft is spending billions of dollars on expanding a global network of data centers that power cloud computing and AI systems like Copilot. Investor concerns about the costs and eventual profitability of data centers have weighed heavily on Microsoft's share price over the past 6 months.
The early retirement buyout program is a first for the legacy tech giant founded in 1975.
Edited by: Karl Sexton
Wesley Rahn Editor and reporter focusing on geopolitics and current affairs
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