Mark Zuckerberg lays off thousands of employees at Meta because of the artificial intelligence revolution

According to the company’s vice president of human resources, this is a step designed to optimize the company’s activities and allow continued investments in strategic areas. At the same time, Meta continues to significantly increase its investment in artificial intelligence: its capital expenditures were $72.2 billion in 2025, and are expected to reach at least $115 billion in 2026, mainly for infrastructure and data centers.

The company also invests in recruiting talent for artificial intelligence laboratories and acquires startups in the field, as part of the effort to compete with leading players in the market. After the announcement, Meta stock fell more than 2%.

Meta is not the only one: many technology companies are making cuts, emphasizing the contribution of artificial intelligence to work efficiency. Amazon announced in January the layoffs of 16,000 employees, and Block announced in February a cut of about 40% of its workforce.

The workers in the United States who will be affected by the move will receive a compensation package that includes 16 weeks of base pay, plus two weeks for each year of work. Similar packages will also be offered to employees outside the country.

The move joins previous cuts made by Meta in recent years, after an accelerated recruitment period during the Corona virus, as well as a reduction of about 5% of low-performing employees last year.