Meta is cutting 16,000 people, approximately 20% of its workforce, in what JPMorgan estimates will save $6 billion annually and Bank of America projects could reach $8 billion. This is the largest single-company layoff of 2026 by a wide margin and one of the largest in tech history.
The cuts come as Meta pivots resources from its metaverse ambitions (Reality Labs has already been significantly reduced) toward AI infrastructure. Mark Zuckerberg has reframed the company's entire identity around artificial intelligence, and the headcount reduction reflects the operational reality of that shift: AI requires fewer people building more automated systems.
Meta's 2026 cuts follow the 11,000-person reduction in 2022 and the 10,000-person cut in 2023. The company that employed over 87,000 people at its peak is heading toward a workforce potentially under 60,000. The Wall Street reaction has been uniformly positive, reinforcing the perverse incentive structure where mass layoffs drive stock appreciation.