Meta indicated that further job cuts remain possible, signalling uncertainty over its workforce even as it increases spending on artificial intelligence.
The company last month confirmed plans to cut about 10 per cent of its global workforce, or roughly 8,000 employees. But during an internal meeting reported by Business Insider, Meta’s Chief People Officer Janelle Gale stopped short of ruling out further layoffs.
“I’d love to say that there are no more layoffs, but I can’t say something we can’t deliver,” Gale said, according to the report. She told employees that while Meta’s business remains strong, shifting priorities and intense competition mean the company will continue to manage costs and “evolve teams as needed,” including redeploying staff where possible.
Gale said the impact of the restructuring would vary across departments and highlighted continued hiring and investment in Meta’s Applied AI organisation, without naming specific teams affected. She also acknowledged that the cuts have hurt morale, adding that Meta was trying to make the process “the best version possible,” and said healthcare coverage for impacted US employees under COBRA had been extended to 18 months.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg reportedly told staff that artificial intelligence was not the primary driver behind the layoffs. While AI tools have enabled smaller teams to operate more efficiently, he said automation alone was not responsible for job reductions.
Zuckerberg also addressed internal concerns over productivity tracking, saying Meta does not directly monitor employees and that activity data such as keystrokes or mouse movements is processed in an abstracted way to help improve AI models.
At the same meeting, Meta’s AI head Alexandr Wang showcased the company’s latest model, Spark, as Meta presses ahead with an aggressive push into artificial intelligence. The company has said it plans to sharply increase infrastructure spending this year, targeting investments of between USD 125 billion and USD 145 billion, largely to support AI development.
The uncertainty around staffing levels was also echoed by Meta’s finance chief. Chief financial officer Susan Li recently said she “doesn’t really know” what the company’s ideal workforce size should be, even as Meta employs more than 77,000 people globally.