Meta is laying off approximately 8,000 employees on May 20, instructing North American staff to work from home. Around 7,000 remaining employees will be moved into four new AI-focused organizations, part of a broader restructuring towards flatter teams and AI-native structures.
Meta is laying off approximately 8,000 employees on May 20, instructing North American staff to work from home. Around 7,000 remaining employees will be moved into four new AI-focused organizations as the company restructures for flatter teams and AI integration.
Meta's chief people officer Janelle Gale indicated that further layoffs are possible, despite recent cuts affecting 8,000 employees. Gale acknowledged the impact on morale and stated the company will continue to manage costs responsibly and evolve teams as needed. CEO Mark Zuckerberg clarified that AI automation is not the primary driver of layoffs, though it enhances team efficiency.
Meta is cutting roughly 8,000 employees—10% of its workforce—on May 20, with another 6,000 open roles being closed. The announcement, made via an internal memo from chief people officer Janelle Gale, has sent workers into a monthlong limbo. Employees are flooding internal forums and the anonymous app Blind with anxiety, dark humor, and resignation. The layoffs are tied to Meta's aggressive AI spending, projected at up to $135 billion this year.
Meta announced plans to lay off approximately 10% of its global workforce, around 8,000 employees, on May 20. The company had almost 79,000 employees at the start of 2026. Chief People Officer Janelle Gale confirmed the layoffs in a memo, citing the need to run the company more efficiently and offset investments in AI. Severance includes 16 weeks base pay plus two weeks per year of employment, plus 18 months of COBRA coverage for US employees.
Meta announced plans to lay off approximately 10% of its workforce, around 8,000 employees, in May 2026, according to a memo from Chief People Officer Janelle Gale. The company will also close around 6,000 open roles. The cuts follow Meta's massive AI investments, including plans to spend $115 billion to $135 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, nearly doubling from $72.22 billion in 2025, to support Meta Superintelligence Labs. Affected employees will be notified on May 20th.
