Meta Platforms chief executive Mark Zuckerberg says increased spending on artificial intelligence is behind planned layoffs at the company and has not ruled out further job cuts.
Speaking to staff during a company town hall on Thursday, Zuckerberg said Meta faces pressure to balance investment priorities.
“We basically have two major cost centers in the company: compute infrastructure and people-oriented things,” he said.
“If we’re investing more in one area to serve our community, then that means we have less capital to allocate to the other. So that means we do need to take down the size of the company somewhat,” he added.
Zuckerberg said the layoffs are not linked to Meta’s reorganisation around an “AI native” structure or its work on AI agents designed to perform tasks autonomously.
“Getting everyone internally to use AI tools and getting to do the work more efficiently is not the thing that’s driving layoffs,” he told employees.
However, he added: “we’ll see how all this stuff trends” and said the company would “be able to share more soon.”
Meta plans to cut about 10% of its workforce on 20 May, with further reductions expected later in the year.
“I wish that I can tell you that I have a crystal ball plan for the next, like, three years of how all this stuff is going to play out. I don’t. I don’t think anyone does,” Zuckerberg said.
The remarks mark the first time Zuckerberg has addressed staff directly on the layoffs since reports of the cuts emerged in March.
The company has also faced internal criticism over the changes, including its silence on the layoffs during announcements about its AI-focused restructuring and a new initiative to track employees’ mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes to train AI systems.
Some employees have criticised the leadership on internal forums, according to messages seen by Reuters.Faridah Abdulkadiri
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