Meta lays off hundreds across Reality Labs, social media, recruiting, and sales in AI-era restructuring

Meta is cutting a few hundred employees across Reality Labs, its social media divisions, recruiting operations, and sales, according to people familiar with the matter, following a separate round of 1,500 Reality Labs layoffs in January. The cuts are a small fraction of Meta's 78,000-person workforce and come as the company projects 2026 capital expenditures of $115B to $135B, a roughly 75% increase over last year driven by AI data center and server investment. Reuters reported earlier this month that Meta could cut at least 20% of total headcount this year, though a company spokesperson called the report “speculative reporting about theoretical approaches.”