Meta Is Cutting 8,000 Jobs on May 20. The Second Wave Will Be Bigger.
Reuters: Meta targets May 20 for first wave of sweeping layoffs. 10% of staff gone, more coming in H2 as Zuckerberg bets everything on AI.
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Meta has set May 20 as the date for its first wave of mass layoffs, according to a Reuters exclusive citing three sources familiar with the plans. Roughly 8,000 employees, about 10% of the company's global workforce, will be cut in this initial round. A second, potentially larger wave is planned for the second half of 2026.
This is not a company in crisis. Meta generated over $200 billion in revenue last year and posted $60 billion in profit. Its stock is up 3.68% year-to-date. The layoffs are not about survival. They are about transformation.
The AI Restructure Is the Point
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pouring hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence and restructuring the company around it. In recent weeks, Meta reorganized its Reality Labs division and created a new "Applied AI" unit, pulling engineers from across the company to build autonomous AI agents that can write code and handle complex tasks.
The calculus is straightforward: fewer management layers, more AI-assisted workers, lower headcount, higher output. Some employees will be transferred into Meta Small Business, a unit created last month, rather than laid off outright.
The Pattern Is Now Undeniable
Meta is not alone. Amazon has trimmed 30,000 corporate employees in recent months, nearly 10% of its white-collar workforce. Block cut almost half its staff in February. In every case, executives directly cited AI-driven efficiency gains as the reason.
According to Layoffs.fyi, 73,212 tech employees have lost their jobs in 2026 so far. For all of 2024, the total was 153,000. At the current pace, 2026 will blow past that figure before summer.
What Happens Next
The May 20 cuts represent just the beginning. Reuters reported last month that Meta was planning to cut 20% or more of its workforce this year. If the first wave is 10%, the second wave could match or exceed it. Sources told Reuters that executives may adjust the second round depending on how AI capabilities develop over the next several months.
These will be the company's most significant layoffs since the 2022-2023 "Year of Efficiency" that eliminated 21,000 jobs when Meta's stock was in freefall. The difference this time: the company is profitable, growing, and choosing to cut anyway. That is the most telling signal of all.
Meta declined to comment on the timing or scope of planned cuts.
First reported by Reuters.