AI costs contributed to layoffs of 8,000 staffers, Zuckerberg says
AI costs contributed to layoffs of 8,000 staffers, Zuckerberg says
Publish Date: 2026-05-03 20:15:00
Source Domain: www.forbes.com.au
Published on
May 4, 2026
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged his company’s spending on artificial intelligence has contributed to layoffs at Meta, according to a recording of an internal Thursday meeting reported by The Wall Street Journal, providing details on the company’s capital expenditures and AI investments.
Zuckerberg made the comments about the layoffs during a Thursday meeting.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- Zuckerberg said “compute and infrastructure” and “people oriented things” were the main drivers of cost at Meta, acknowledging the company’s increasing investments in AI and saying, “that means that we do need to take down the size of the company somewhat,” according to the Journal.
- Meta is slated to reduce its workforce by 10% soon, cutting 8,000 employees to offset its spending on AI, according to multiple outlets.
- Zuckerberg also told employees Meta could reduce team sizes to take into account the speed and efficiency of AI tools to take care of work, noting, “If a team used to take 50 or 100 people and now it takes 10, having 50 or 100 people on that team can actually be counterproductive going forward so I think we need to fix that.”
- The Meta CEO said the reduction of team sizes does not necessarily equate to laying people off, adding AI can help employees “spin up more new projects.”
Tangent
Zuckerberg said Meta’s ad business experienced a “trajectory change” after the U.S. launched strikes against Iran in late February that sent oil prices surging. He noted consumers spending more on gas due to rising oil prices would mean they spend less on “things that they would just buy that are just kind of discretionary things that the advertising might serve,” he said, according to the Journal.
Big Number
$125 billion to $145 billion. That is Meta’s latest capital expenditure…
