First Round of Impending Meta Layoffs Expected to Result in 10% Staffing Reduction
The first rounds of layoffs impacting Meta employees are set to happen on May 20. Read on for the details about the impending job cuts, including how many employees are expected to lose their positions in the weeks and months ahead.
Meta Reportedly Cutting Nearly 8,000 Employees in May
According to a report from Reuters, Meta is planning to initiate its first wave of layoffs on May 20. Sources close to the matter said that the May 20 layoffs will be the first of more cuts planned this year. The Facebook and Instagram owner is expected to let go of approximately 10% of its workforce around the globe with this first round of cuts. This equates to nearly 8,000 total employees.
Meta is expected to conduct more staff reductions in the second half of the year. However, the size of these cuts has not been determined. Officials have also not confirmed when the future layoffs may happen, nor what divisions may be impacted.
The leading tech company's executives may further adjust their staff reduction plans as the year progresses. These cuts are largely dependent on information gleaned from developments in the artificial intelligence space. Last month, Reuters reported that Meta was expected to let go of 20% or more of its international workforce. Meta has yet to officially confirm the timing of the layoffs.
As has been typical in the tech industry over the last few years, the rise of AI is influencing the direction that many companies are taking regarding staffing. Following this trend, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI technology.
Meta is not the first company in recent months to dramatically slash its workforce. Amazon.com cut about 30,000 corporate employees from its payroll recently, translating to almost 10% of its professional workforce as it increasingly leans on AI to perform these duties.
One of the most drastic workforce reductions came from tech company Block. The leader in the fintech space cut almost half of its staff in February, sending shockwaves across the industry and on Wall Street. Both Block and Amazon said that the layoffs were the result of increases in efficiency due to the rise of AI.
What to Expect in the Coming Months as AI Extends Its Influence
Layoffs.fyi, a website tracking tech jobs on a global scale, recently reported that 73,212 employees have lost their jobs thus far in 2026. For context, this figure came in at 153,000 in all of 2024.
Should Meta's layoffs come to fruition as expected, it will be the most significant restructuring for the social media stalwart since late 2022 and early 2023. Known as the "year of efficiency" by Meta executives, that restructuring effort led to the loss of about 21,000 jobs.
Meta suffered significant financial losses in 2022 as its leaders struggled to keep up with the growth that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. As people were increasingly homebound, the use of social media soared throughout the world in 2020 and 2021, prompting Meta to staff up. However, that growth proved fleeting once life returned to normal.
While Meta is in a better position financially this time around, that does not mean that layoffs are not inevitable. Rather than job losses coming as a result of necessity, the upcoming cuts are simply being blamed on the need for fewer managers, and because AI-assisted workers are more efficient.
Shares of the Menlo Park, California-based Meta are up 3.68% since the beginning of 2026. Despite the gains, stock prices are still down from the record high seen over the summer. 2025 was a banner year for Meta, generating over $200 billion in revenue. The company also boasted a $60 billion profit even after its sizable spending to ramp up its AI capabilities.
According to its latest filing, Meta employed almost 79,000 people as of the end of 2025. Most recently, the company has reorganized some of the teams in its Reality Labs division. In addition, leaders have transferred engineers from across the company into what is being called an "Applied AI" group. This new division is charged with accelerating the development and launch of AI agents capable of writing code and performing complicated tasks autonomously.
Lastly, some staffers are also expected to be transferred into Meta Small Business. This unit was set up last month as part of the overall restructuring process.
What is happening at Meta is likely a sign of more to come throughout the tech industry and beyond.
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