Zuckerberg Tells Meta Employees Layoffs Center on Capex, Not AI Productivity
May 1, 2026 – 9:35 am
At a Thursday town hall, Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta CEO, explicitly stated what he had previously implied: “We basically have two major cost centres in the company: compute infrastructure and people-oriented things.”
Zuckerberg attributed the upcoming layoffs to increasing capital expenditure on AI infrastructure, declining to rule out further job cuts. “If we’re investing more in one area to serve our community, then that means we have less capital to allocate to the other,” he said. "So that means we do need to take down the size of the company somewhat."
Janelle Gale, Meta’s chief people officer, also present at the meeting, did not rule out further layoffs. Susan Li, CFO, noted on Wednesday’s earnings call that Meta does not yet know its "optimal" long-term workforce size given AI advancements.
These remarks clarify what was previously framed as ‘efficiency’ by Meta. The May 20 layoffs of approximately 8,000 employees, accounting for roughly 10% of the company’s workforce, are now presented as a direct consequence of AI infrastructure spending revealed in Wednesday’s Q1 earnings report.
Meta raised its full-year 2026 capex guidance to $125-$145 billion, up from $115-$135 billion, sending shares down 9% after hours. Additional layoffs are planned for the second half of 2026.
Zuckerberg dodged questions about AI productivity directly, stating: "Getting everyone internally to use AI tools and getting to do the work more efficiently is not the thing that’s driving layoffs." He added, "We’ll see how all this stuff trends," promising further updates soon.
This cautious framing contrasts with statements from Zuckerberg’s peers at Microsoft and Salesforce, who have hinted at AI replacing workers. The true impact of AI on Meta’s workforce remains to be seen, as the company navigates a shifting technological landscape.