Meta reportedly plans sweeping layoffs as AI costs increase

"Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalized."

"If Meta settles on the 20% figure, the layoffs will be the company's most significant since a restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023 that it dubbed the year of efficiency. It employed nearly 79,000 people as of 31 December, according to its latest filing."

"Over the last year, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing Meta to compete more forcefully in generative AI. The company has offered huge pay packages, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars over four years, to court top AI researchers to a new superintelligence team."

"Zuckerberg has alluded to efficiency gains from the investments, saying in January he was starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person."

Meta is planning significant layoffs potentially affecting 20% of its approximately 79,000-person workforce, according to sources familiar with the matter. The cuts aim to offset substantial investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure and capitalize on efficiency improvements from AI-assisted workers. Top executives have begun planning the restructuring, though no specific date or final magnitude has been set. This would represent Meta's largest layoff since late 2022 when it cut 13% of staff. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has aggressively pursued AI competition, offering substantial compensation packages to top researchers and planning $600 billion in data center investments through 2028. The company recently acquired Moltbook and is purchasing Chinese AI startup Manus. Zuckerberg has indicated AI enables single talented individuals to complete projects previously requiring large teams.

Read at www.theguardian.com