Big tech shift: Meta trims staff to fund AI expansion

Meta Platforms Inc. has started laying off about 8,000 employees worldwide as part of a major restructuring linked to its focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and cost reduction.

The layoffs began on Wednesday morning, starting with staff in Asia and later affecting employees in the United States. According to internal reports, affected workers were informed through official company communication.

The job cuts are part of Meta’s plan to make its operations more efficient while investing heavily in AI infrastructure and product development.

At the same time, Meta has reassigned about 7,000 employees to new AI-focused teams working on products and automated systems. The company says it is also moving toward a flatter organisational structure, where smaller teams have more responsibility and can work faster.

Meta ended March with just under 80,000 employees before this new round of restructuring.

The company’s Head of People said the new structure is designed to improve speed, accountability, and productivity.

However, the changes have caused concern among employees, especially about job security and increased monitoring related to AI development. Some staff have also raised worries about data collection practices used to train AI systems.

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority, with the company investing heavily in infrastructure to compete with other tech giants like Google and OpenAI.

Analysts estimate the layoffs could save the company about $3 billion, even as it continues large spending on AI projects.

Overall, Meta says the restructuring is meant to reduce costs while speeding up its shift toward artificial intelligence-driven products and services.