Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a meeting with company employees that approximately 8 thousand people will be laid off. It was stated that this move was taken to meet the company’s rapidly increasing artificial intelligence infrastructure budget.

The layoffs, which are planned to begin approximately on May 20, correspond to 10 percent of Meta’s total workforce. The company announced in the same week that it increased its capital expenditure forecast for 2026 to between $125 billion and $145 billion.

Infrastructure Investments and Workforce Balance

Zuckerberg stated that the two main cost centers within the company are IT infrastructure and human-related expenses. It was emphasized that the budget allocated to personnel expenses was limited due to the transfer of more capital to artificial intelligence equipment.

Meta spent $72.2 billion on capital expenditures through 2025. The midpoint of the new 2026 guidance suggests this figure will nearly double in a single year.

The company’s financial data reveals that the layoffs are not due to an economic necessity. According to the first quarter 2026 earnings report announced on Wednesday, Meta generated $56.31 billion in revenue, an increase of 33 percent on an annual basis.

While the company’s net income reached $26.8 billion, capital expenditures in the first quarter alone amounted to $19.84 billion.

CFO Susan Li noted that it is difficult to predict the company’s ideal long-term workforce size due to the rapid development of AI capabilities.

Artificial Intelligence Discussions in the Industry

Zuckerberg’s statements fueled the ongoing debate about whether companies are using artificial intelligence as a justification for layoffs.

In a statement he made in February, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that some companies were engaging in “AI washing” by linking layoffs to technology.

Zuckerberg made a more specific statement, attributing the reason for the layoffs directly to infrastructure spending.

However, Nvidia’s vice president of applied deep learning, Bryan Catanzaro, stated that the long-term success of this strategy is questionable, stating that computing costs are higher than employee costs.

Meta employees reacted to layoffs and attempts to track keyboard and mouse movements to monitor internal productivity.

While the company management argued that the use of artificial intelligence tools was not the main reason for the layoffs, they stated that they would continue to follow the processes closely.

This layoff decision was the biggest downsizing step since Meta laid off approximately 21 thousand people in 2022 and 2023. In 2026, more than 80 thousand employees were laid off in the general technology sector.

Do you think it is a good strategy for large technology companies to reduce their staff to focus on artificial intelligence infrastructure?