Meta, the US social media giant which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, will slash around 8000 jobs in mass lay-offs to make room for artificial intelligence (AI).The Mark Zuckerberg-founded company plans to cut its global workforce by 10 per cent and will cancel around 6000 open positions as Meta offsets its AI spend in a ruthless pursuit of "efficiency", Bloomberg first reported.Meta confirmed the lay-offs but declined to comment further when contacted by Nine.com.au.READ MORE: Zander, 21, died hours after developing a headache and rash on flightThe Mark Zuckerberg-founded company plans to cut its global workforce by 10 per cent. (AP)READ MORE: Parents will soon see their child's AI search history on Facebook, Instagram"We're doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we're making," Meta's chief people officer Janelle Gale said in an internal memo to employees."This is not an easy trade-off and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here."Meta is expected to notify impacted staff on May 20.It is understood that laid-off workers in the US will be offered severance packages which includes "16 weeks of base pay plus two weeks for every year of employment," according to the memo.Meta has embarked on an aggressive AI spending spree, including multi-billion dollar deals with AI partners and heavy investment in data centres.And Zuckerberg has previously made it clear that the technology will fundamentally reshape the company.Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has ramped up the company's AI spending. (AP/Nic Coury)READ MORE: Why Trump is losing his grip and what can turn it around"I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work," Zuckerberg said in January.Zuckerberg hinted at the time that AI meant companies like Meta could shrink their workforce and have the same output."We're starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person," he said.Meta has already slashed around 2000 jobs in smaller redundancy rounds this year.Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. (Nine)READ MORE: Trump said 'buy oil from the US'. Australia had little choiceMicrosoft is also planning to cull thousands of workers.The software giant is reportedly offering voluntary redundancies to thousands of workers in the US, amounting to around seven per cent of its workforce.The Financial Times reports that around 8000 Microsoft employees will be impacted.Microsoft confirmed today it would spend $25 billion in Australia on building its AI capacity by 2029."Australia has an enormous opportunity to translate AI into real economic growth and societal benefit," said Microsoft chief executive and chairman Satya Nadella said."That is why we are making our largest investment in Australia to date, committing A$25 billion to expand AI and cloud capacity, strengthen cybersecurity, and expand access to digital skills across the country."NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google PlayMake 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box hereSign up to our breaking newsletter here