Meta is laying off a few hundred employees across multiple teams, according to a Reuters report which cited people familiar with the matter. Reuters had also reported earlier that the company is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company amid AI focus.
The Wednesday layoffs were on a smaller scale. In an earlier report in The Information, the cuts would affect Meta’s Reality Labs division, social media teams and recruiting operations. A handful of employees who worked in Reality Labs revealed on LinkedIn that their roles have been eliminated.
“Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they’re in the best position to achieve their goals. Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted,” a Meta spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement.
Earlier this month, Meta asked some employees to prepare cost-cutting measures, according to a Business Insider report. Some Meta employees in the company’s wearables and ads units received a message on Tuesday instructing them to work from home on Wednesday, according to two sources who received it.
This comes amid an expensive AI push. Meta has been pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure and building teams with top AI talent. The company has also been promoting the use of AI internally.
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Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, told staff on Tuesday that he would take over the company’s “AI for Work” initiative, an effort to increase the company’s adoption of AI tools internally, according to a memo reviewed by Business Insider and first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
“Like many of you I’ve been captivated by the power AI has to transform our company and eager to unlock its power for each individual and team,” Boz wrote in the note. The cuts also come as some of the company’s top execs are set to receive huge pay increases tied to the company achieving “exceedingly aggressive” stock prices over five years.
Increasing layoffs and cost-cutting measures are a growing trend among Big Tech currently. In January, Amazon said that it has cut about 16,000 corporate jobs, bringing total layoffs to roughly 30,000 since October 2025, and signaled that more reductions could still be ahead. Microsoft said last year it would eliminate about 15,000 positions.
Several companies have also cited AI as a reason for layoffs. These include software company Atlassian, which cut 10% of jobs recently, amid an AI push. Blackrock also mentioned the technology while announcing 50% cuts.
Meta had nearly 79,000 employees as of December 31, according to its annual filing. According to Reuters, the company is seeking to offset rising costs tied to massive investments in artificial intelligence, having forecast total expenses of $162 billion to $169 billion in 2026, and rising employee compensation as the company spends millions to hire top AI talent.