Zuckerberg says Meta is building the future — after laying off 8,000 workers

NEW YORK, May 21 — Meta began laying off roughly 8,000 employees yesterday — about 10 percent of its global workforce — as co-founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg pushes to redirect resources toward an ambitious artificial intelligence agenda.

According to Bloomberg, notifications went out beginning in the early morning hours, with Singapore-based workers among the first to be informed.

In addition to the cuts, Meta said in April it would cancel plans to hire 6,000 people and shift 7,000 other employees into AI workflow-related roles.

In a memo to staff yesterday, posted by Business Insider, Zuckerberg expressed thanks to departing employees and sought to reassure those remaining.

“It’s always sad to say good-bye to people who have contributed to our mission and to building this company,” he wrote. “I feel the weight of that.”

Zuckerberg said he did not expect additional company-wide layoffs this year, and acknowledged the company had fallen short in its communications with staff.

He struck an optimistic tone about the company’s direction, saying Meta was “one of the few companies positioned to help define the future” and reaffirming his goal of delivering “personal superintelligence” to users worldwide.

The restructuring is the largest company-wide round of cuts since Zuckerberg’s 2022-2023 “Year of Efficiency” campaign, which eliminated roughly 21,000 positions.

The move comes as Meta dramatically ramps up spending on AI infrastructure.

Meta has forecasted capital expenditures to reach between US$125 billion (RM5 billion) and US$145 billion for the year — more than double the company’s 2025 outlay. — AFP