Meta is preparing to lay off nearly 200 employees in the San Francisco Bay Area as the company continues shifting resources toward artificial intelligence. The reported cuts would affect 124 workers in Burlingame and 74 in Sunnyvale, with the changes expected to take effect by late May.
Workforce cuts tied to broader AI strategy
The planned layoffs appear to be part of a wider restructuring effort inside Meta. According to the report, the broader plan could eventually affect more than 20% of the company’s workforce, or roughly 15,000 employees. While a Meta spokesperson characterized the reports as speculative, the market is likely to view the move as another sign that the company is tightening operations while concentrating spending on higher-priority AI initiatives.
If carried out, these cuts would mark Meta’s largest workforce reduction since its major rounds of layoffs in 2022 and 2023. For investors tracking the intersection of big tech and emerging technologies, the development underscores how large platform companies are pairing cost discipline with aggressive bets on AI-driven growth.
Heavy spending on AI infrastructure
At the same time, Meta is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint. The company is investing $10 billion in a data center in El Paso, Texas, highlighting that this is not simply a cost-cutting story. Instead, Meta appears to be reallocating capital and talent away from some existing functions and toward AI models, computing capacity, and product development.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also pointed to efficiency gains from AI tools, saying projects that once required large teams can now be handled by fewer people. That comment suggests generative AI and automation are increasingly reshaping staffing models across the tech sector, with potential implications for future hiring and layoff trends.