Meta Slashes 10% of Staff

Meta is preparing for significant workforce reductions in May, targeting approximately 10 percent of its employees, which translates to around 8,000 roles. This information comes from an internal memo authored by Chief People Officer Janelle Gale, which was subsequently published by Bloomberg. In addition to these layoffs, Gale's memo indicates that Meta will also be closing approximately 6,000 currently open positions, a move designed to help “offset the other investments we’re making.”

These upcoming reductions are framed as a strategic move to balance Meta's substantial ongoing investments in artificial intelligence, which involve considerable expenditure on recruiting top talent and constructing advanced data centers. The company had previously projected in January a capital expenditure of $115 billion to $135 billion for 2026, marking a significant rise from the $72.22 billion allocated for 2025. This escalated spending is intended to “support our Meta Superintelligence Labs efforts and core business.” Notably, these are not Meta's first workforce adjustments this year; earlier, the company announced layoffs impacting hundreds across its recruiting, social media, and sales departments, alongside cuts affecting approximately 10 percent of its Reality Labs division.

In her memo, Gale articulated the rationale behind these decisions, stating that Meta is “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 acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, adding, “This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here.” A Meta spokesperson, Tracy Clayton, confirmed the accuracy of Bloomberg’s report but offered no further comment.

Employees affected by these layoffs are scheduled to receive notification on May 20th. Gale addressed the extended period of uncertainty, stating, “I know this leaves everyone with nearly a month of ambiguity which is incredibly unsettling.” She further explained that “as we’re still working through the details we aren’t able to share much more until later in May.”

This news aligns with a Reuters report from last week, which also indicated May 20th as the target date for layoffs and suggested that additional workforce reductions are anticipated in the second half of 2026. Earlier in March, Reuters had reported that Meta was contemplating a more substantial restructuring, potentially involving layoffs of 20 percent “or more” of its total workforce.