Meta Rejects Claims of 20% Workforce Cuts Affecting 15,000 Employees

Meta has refuted rumours that it intends to lay off as much as 20% of its employees. Consequently, it is denying rumours that the increase in spending on AI could have an impact on almost 15,000 jobs. The claim was hypothetical, according to a corporate spokesman who spoke with a news outlet.

Reuters had stated that top executives had instructed their subordinates to be ready for a drastic decrease in staff. More than 20% of workers might be affected by the layoffs, according to the report. As of December 2025, Meta had about 79,000 employees. Layoffs of that magnitude would be the biggest drop in staff that the company has ever experienced.

Meta Actively Pushing for AI infusion

These rumours surface just as Meta is stepping up its spending on AI infrastructure. Capital expenditures connected to artificial intelligence are expected to reach $115–135 billion in 2026. These figures are almost twice the amount spent in 2025, according to the company's earlier announcement this year. The investment is a part of a larger effort by large tech companies, with a total anticipated expenditure of almost $700 billion by hyperscalers including Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft.

Investors are worried about cost discipline and profitability, even though the expenditure highlights Meta's strategy shift towards AI. Meta has a history of implementing massive layoffs. The business laid off about 11,000 workers in late 2022 as part of a larger effort to reduce costs, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. A major escalation would be any additional layoffs on the magnitude indicated in the recent media reports. Having said that, the response from the company suggests that no such plans have been officially approved.

Job Cuts a New Normal for Tech Firms

Cuts have been announced by multiple companies. Block announced a 4,000-job layoff to make way for AI-driven, leaner operations. Earlier this year, Amazon lost almost 16,000 jobs in a cost-cutting drive related to its AI initiatives. Also, 10% of Atlassian's employees will be let go.

These changes indicate that tech companies are rethinking their approach to balancing employee numbers with productivity. It would indicate a wider reassessment of the relationship between worker size, growth, and margins throughout the sector if large-scale cuts happen amid increased AI investment, according to analysts at Jefferies. Companies are increasingly associating staff restructuring with AI deployment, and the speculation surrounding Meta reflects this trend across the technology sector.