Meta to Cut Thousands of Jobs to Offset Mark Zuckerberg’s AI Spend
The Australian Financial Review
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Details
- Date Published
- 23 Apr 2026
- Priority Score
- 2
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 24 Apr 2026, 12:00 pm
Description
The social media giant’s decision came as Microsoft issued its own memo to staff offering voluntary buyouts to thousands of its US employees.
Summary
Meta and Microsoft are initiating significant workforce reductions and buyouts affecting up to 23,000 positions to redirect capital toward massive artificial intelligence infrastructure and development. This shift highlights the intensifying global arms race in frontier AI capabilities, as tech giants prioritize heavy hardware and compute spending over traditional headcount. The reallocation of resources toward larger-scale AI development has implications for the pace of frontier model scaling, which directly impacts global governance and the timeline of potential catastrophic risks arising from advanced systems.
Body
WorldNorth AmericaAIPrint articleKurt Wagner and Brody FordApr 24, 2026 – 7.30amSan Francisco | Meta and Microsoft are planning cuts or announcing buyouts that could affect as many as 23,000 jobs, part of an effort to streamline operations and offset heavy spending on artificial intelligence.Meta told personnel in an internal memo on Thursday (Friday AEST) that it planned to cut 10 per cent of workers, or roughly 8000 employees, starting on May 20. The social media company also said it would not fill 6000 open roles.Loading...BloombergSaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreAIMicrosoftMark ZuckerbergFacebookJapanJobsFetching latest articles