Meta Reportedly Preparing to Cut About 20% of Staff

Meta is reportedly planning a sweeping round of layoffs that could remove as many as 20% of its employees, according to Reuters coverage picked up by The Verge. That percentage translates to roughly 15,800 positions and would mark the company's biggest cut since it eliminated about 22,000 roles between November 2022 and early 2023.

The push to shrink headcount appears tied to a strategic shift: the company has been funneling significant resources into artificial intelligence hiring and building out data centers, while trimming or shuttering some earlier high-cost bets like parts of its VR and metaverse efforts. Recent moves included budget cuts across Reality Labs and the closure of several VR studios.

Sources say the layoffs are intended to offset the rising costs associated with AI development and the infrastructure that supports it. Meta’s priorities seem to have narrowed to projects that promise clearer near- to mid-term returns, particularly AI models and the physical systems that power them.

For employees and observers, the prospect of another large wave of job cuts raises familiar concerns about disruption and morale. Meta’s previous downsizing rounds upended teams across the company and reshaped its product focus. If this new plan proceeds, teams working on less strategically essential projects could face the brunt of reductions.

Investors and industry watchers will likely read this move as part of a broader tech-sector recalibration: companies that bet heavily on speculative long-term projects are increasingly being asked to demonstrate faster paths to profitability. For users, the changes could mean a faster pivot toward AI-powered features across Meta’s apps, but also fewer experimental services.