Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg blames May layoffs on AI capital spending and declines to rule out more job cuts

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees at a Thursday town hall that the company's planned layoffs are tied to rising AI capital expenditures rather than its reorganization around an “AI native” structure, declining to rule out further job cuts beyond a planned May round, according to Reuters which heard the session. Meta plans to lay off about 10% of its workforce on May 20 with additional cuts planned for the second half of the year, and Zuckerberg said the company has “two major cost centers” in compute infrastructure and people, meaning that investing more in one means it “does need to take down the size of the company somewhat.” The town hall was Zuckerberg's first direct address to employees about the layoffs since Reuters first reported the plan in March, with internal forum criticism intensifying after Meta announced an initiative to track employee mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes to train AI agents.