Meta, LinkedIn Announce Fresh Job Cuts Amid AI Push

Meta is planning a major restructuring effort that includes layoffs affecting about 10 percent of its workforce and shifting about 7,000 employees to AI-focused roles, according to a report by NBC News.

Meta will reorganize these employees into four new AI-focused divisions as part of its broader strategy to increase AI investments, the report said.

While approximately 8,000 employees are expected to be laid off within the scope of the restructuring, nearly 6,000 open positions will not be filled. Meta had previously outlined the restructuring plan in an internal memo published in April.

“We are doing this as part of our ongoing efforts to manage the company more efficiently and allow us to balance other investments we have made,” Janelle Gale, Meta’s Chief People Officer, stated in the memo.

“This is not an easy swap and will mean letting go people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here,” he added.

Affected employees are expected to receive details regarding layoffs and restructurings via email communications. The move reflects Meta’s increasing emphasis on AI-driven growth across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

During the company’s first quarter 2026 earnings call, Meta Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said the company is heavily focused on using AI tools to increase productivity and engineering efficiency.

Meta also raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to between US$125 billion and US$145 billion, from US$115 billion to US$135 billion, citing higher component costs and increased data center spending linked to AI expansion.

Despite aggressive artificial intelligence investments, investors’ concerns remain. Shares of Meta have fallen about 9 percent this year and are down almost 10 percent since its April earnings release.

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase reportedly downgraded Meta shares, saying the company faces a “tougher road to comeback” than its rivals in the AI ​​race. Analysts at Bank of America also questioned whether the scale of Meta’s AI spending would remain sustainable in the long term.

Meta employed 77,986 workers as of March 2026, compared to 86,482 workers in 2022.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn announced layoffs affecting more than 600 employees, according to a report from the New York Post.

The report included a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) file showing that 606 LinkedIn employees were notified of permanent layoffs that would take effect on July 13.

The largest number of layoffs (about 352 employees) came from LinkedIn’s Mountain View office in California, along with 66 remote workers in the same city. Another 108 employees were laid off in San Francisco, 59 in Sunnyvale and 21 in Carpinteria.

The layoffs followed an internal memo from LinkedIn CEO Daniel Shapero, who said the company needed to “reinvent the way we work” and redirect investments into infrastructure and long-term priorities.

The memo added that LinkedIn will reduce roles in marketing, engineering, product and other business functions. The company is also reportedly cutting spending on marketing campaigns, vendor expenses, customer events and office space.

The layoffs come even though LinkedIn recently reported 12 percent annual revenue growth in its third-quarter earnings.

Microsoft, LinkedIn’s parent company, also announced acquisition offers that could affect about 7 percent of its 125,000-person workforce, or about 8,750 employees.

The buyout program targets employees who qualify for early retirement based on age and years of service.