Meta, Microsoft plan cuts, buyouts that may affect 23,000 jobs amid AI push
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Big tech companies are looking for ways to slash costs as they pour billions into data centres and other AI infrastructure.
PHOTOS: AFP, NYTIMES
- Meta is cutting 10% of its workforce, roughly 8,000 employees, and closing 6,000 open roles to offset massive investments in AI development.
- Other tech firms also reduce staff for AI. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects AI to overtake much tech work, envisioning "personal superintelligence".
- Meta has invested over US$70 billion in AI infrastructure and plans to spend up to US$135 billion this year to lead the technology race.
AI generated
SAN FRANCISCO – Meta Platforms and Microsoft have both taken drastic actions to trim their workforces in an effort to streamline their operations and offset heavy spending on artificial intelligence.
Meta told personnel in an internal memo on April 23 that it planned to cut 10 per cent of workers, or roughly 8,000 employees, starting on May 20. The social media giant also said it would not fill 6,000 open roles.
Earlier in the day, Microsoft issued its own memo offering voluntary buyouts to thousands of its US employees. About 7 per cent of the US workforce will be eligible for the buyouts, according to a person familiar with the planning. The company has never previously done buyouts of this scale, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter.
Microsoft had 125,000 employees in the US as at June 2025. That would make about 8,750 workers eligible for the programme.
Big tech companies have been looking for ways to slash costs as they pour billions into data centres and other infrastructure to meet demand for AI services.
Record spending
Microsoft is racing to construct data centres around the world and in April announced new AI investments in Japan and Australia.
Meta, meanwhile, has projected record capital expenditures in 2026 and has announced several multibillion-dollar deals with AI partners over the past few months.
Both companies have instituted several rounds of layoffs in recent years.
Meta alluded to its AI spending in the memo, which was written by chief people officer Janelle Gale. “We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” she wrote in the note, which was reviewed by Bloomberg.
Meta employees have spent much of the year fretting about job cuts, which have already hit the Reality Labs division and other teams.
Ms Gale said that the company was announcing the layoffs early since details of the plan had already been leaked.
“I know this is unwelcome news and confirming this puts everyone in an uneasy state, but we feel this is the best path forward, given the circumstances,” Ms Gale wrote.
Microsoft’s buyout programme is being offered to workers whose years of service plus their age total 70 or more, excluding some senior roles or those on sales incentive plans, according to the memo from chief people officer Amy Coleman.
“I’ve never seen the company move with this level of urgency and pace, and I see the intensity and agility you bring every day,” Ms Coleman wrote in the memo, which was reviewed by Bloomberg.
“To sustain this pace, we have to stay focused on doing great work, trusting and empowering our managers and simplifying to support everyone.”
Both companies are scheduled to report quarterly earnings on April 29. BLOOMBERG
