Meta Platforms is set to lay off about 10 per cent of its workforce, amounting to about 8,000 employees, and eliminate an additional 6,000 open positions in May as it increases its spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, with more than 78,000 employees as of the end of 2025, announced the move in an internal memo to employees on Thursday.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said that he expects many roles in the technology sector, including software development, to eventually be handled by AI-powered systems.

These include coding assistants designed to help engineers write and optimise software more efficiently.

“This is not an easy trade-off,” Meta’s chief people officer, Janelle Gale, said in the memo.

“It will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here.”

In 2021, Facebook rebranded to Meta Platforms and built the “metaverse,” a virtual reality space where users can interact, work, and create content.

The company has been using artificial intelligence to recommend content and develop creator tools across its apps.

It has also introduced generative AI tools that help users and creators produce images, captions, and videos more efficiently, while also adding AI assistants into messaging services like WhatsApp.

In 2022 and 2023, Mr Zuckerberg announced major layoffs as part of what he described as a “year of efficiency.”

In March 2025, the company laid off approximately 700 employees across several divisions as part of its ongoing restructuring.

The downsizing continued, with the company cutting a further 1,000 to 1,500 employees in January.

Meta Platforms reported total revenue of $200.97 billion in 2025. The company has also projected first-quarter 2026 revenue of between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion.

Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp generated more than $24.7 billion in operating income in the fourth quarter of 2025.