Meta is cutting several hundred jobs amid record AI spending

Some members of Meta’s Reality Labs division were asked to work remotely Wednesday in preparation for the cuts, according to two people familiar with the announcement.

• Meta to cut several hundred jobs across multiple divisions
• Layoffs hit US and global staff; some reassigned to new roles
• Reality Labs division faces remote work and restructuring

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Meta Platforms Inc. is cutting several hundred jobs as part of a restructuring effort that’s impacting several teams at the company, including sales, recruiting and the Reality Labs hardware division.

The layoffs will affect employees both in the US and other international markets, according to a person familiar with the matter. Some of the personnel impacted will be offered other jobs, or a chance to move to another location to stay at the company, the person said.

Some members of Meta’s Reality Labs division were asked to work remotely Wednesday in preparation for the cuts, according to two people familiar with the announcement.

“Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they’re in the best position to achieve their goals,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted.”

The cuts will impact fewer than 1,000 total employees, according to a person familiar with the matter. Meta had about 79,000 employees worldwide at the start of the year.

Meta has been one of tech industry’s most aggressive spenders when it comes to AI. The company projected record capital expenditures this year — as much as $135 billion — and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta will spend $600 billion on US infrastructure projects by 2028. Zuckerberg previously discussed how AI will disrupt the company’s work flows, and engineers at the company are already using AI agents to help with coding and other projects.

Meta has already trimmed its ranks this year. Reality Labs, the internal division developing futuristic hardware like AI glasses and virtual reality headsets, cut more than 1,000 people in January as the company pushed more resources toward artificial intelligence wearables and away from some of its virtual-world products, known as the metaverse.