Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs to Fund AI Push as Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts
Both tech giants cite AI infrastructure costs as driver of workforce reductions
En resumen
- Meta announces layoffs of approximately 8,000 employees (10% of workforce) and will leave 6,000 positions unfilled to fund AI investments, with projected costs of $162-169bn next year.
- Meanwhile, Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to around 8,750 US workers as both tech giants grapple with escalating AI infrastructure expenses.
Resumen generado por IA
Meta is cutting roughly 8,000 jobs or around 10% of its workforce as it funnels ever more cash into artificial intelligence and the sky-high salaries needed to attract AI talent. The company confirmed the cuts on Thursday, framing them as a drive for efficiency to free up investment in priority areas of the business.
Bloomberg, which first reported the news, also said Meta plans to leave around 6,000 vacancies unfilled. Meta has already told investors its costs will balloon significantly next year, to somewhere between $162bn (€143bn) and $169bn (€150bn), driven by infrastructure spending and the increasingly eye-watering pay packets it is offering AI specialists.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives was upbeat about the cuts in a note to investors, arguing Meta was using AI tools to "automate tasks that once required large teams, allowing the company to streamline operations and reduce costs while maintaining productivity [and] driving an increased need for a leaner operating structure."
Also on Thursday, Microsoft said it was offering voluntary buyouts to thousands of US employees. The software giant plans to extend offers in early May to around 8,750 workers, roughly 7% of its US workforce, according to two people familiar with the plan who were not authorised to speak publicly.
Unlike the blunter instrument of mass layoffs used by Meta and Oracle, Microsoft's approach gives staff the option to leave on their own terms. The savings, however, are likely driven by the same underlying pressure, namely the enormous cost of building out AI infrastructure.
Microsoft has spent billions running an ever-expanding global network of data centres powering cloud computing, AI systems and its own suite of productivity tools, including the AI assistant Copilot. According to CNBC, which featured a memo from Microsoft's chief people officer Amy Coleman in their reporting, the company said it wanted to give eligible employees "the choice to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company support".
