Mark Zuckerberg explains what pushed Meta into ’28 days of hell’

Meta plans to lay off about 10% of its staff on May 20. According to Reutersin a recent internal meeting, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the main reason was the company’s sharp increase in spending on AI, leading to forced personnel cuts.

Meta currently has the two largest cost groups: computing infrastructure and personnel. As spending on AI increases, the human budget is forced to shrink. If the company invests more in one area, the company will have less capital for the remaining area. “Meta needs to scale back to a certain extent,” Mark said.

Mark Zuckerberg said this round of layoffs is not related to reorganization according to an AI-centric model (AI native) or the development of AI agents that automate work. He asserted that pushing employees to use AI tools to work more efficiently is “not the cause” of the cuts.

However, CEO Meta does not rule out the possibility of further layoffs. “I don’t have a clear plan for the next three years about how things will go. I don’t think anyone does,” he said.

This is the first time Mark Zuckerberg directly mentioned plans to lay off employees since this information was leaked.

Meta announced on April 23 a plan to cut 10% of human resources and stop recruiting about 6,000 positions, effective from the end of May. Company leaders said the adjustment will help operate more efficiently, as well as compensate for other investments.

Those affected will receive a severance package of 16 weeks of base salary, plus an additional two weeks for each year of service. Meta will send an email to lay off 8,000 people on May 20, and many employees call this period “28 days of hell”, not knowing if they are on the list.

This plan, along with an initiative to track employees’ mouse movements, clicks and keyboard movements for AI training, has caused backlash within the company. According to Reuterssome Meta employees publicly criticized leadership on internal forums.