Meta To Lay Off Hundreds Of Workers Today As AI Pivot Accelerates

Meta Platforms is laying off a few hundred employees today as its workforce restructuring continues, following years of terrible metaverse bets and overhiring during the Covid era. Reports of another round of layoffs surfaced earlier this month, and just last week, Meta shut down Horizon Worlds, its virtual reality social network for Quest headsets.

The Information reports that a few hundred employees will be let go today as part of the company’s effort to reposition itself in the AI space.

People familiar with the workforce restructuring say a majority of the cuts will focus on staff in Reality Labs, social media teams, recruiting, and a smaller number of sales roles.

“Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they’re in the best position to achieve their goals. Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted,” a Meta spokesperson told the outlet.

In mid-March, Reuters reported that a new round of layoffs at Meta was imminent and would reduce the workforce by 20%. The outlet said that the workforce restructuring is intended to redirect capital flows toward AI infrastructure.

The latest Bloomberg data show Meta’s total workforce at the end of 2025 was about 79,000. Any layoffs today would amount to only a quarter of a percent.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been downsizing the workforce since the 2022–23 “year of efficiency” layoffs.

Shares of Meta peaked in August 2025 at around $790 and have since been locked in a bear market, down around 25%.

The reason for Meta’s underperformance can be found in our note on Tuesday titled “What’s The Matter With Meta: Goldman Explains The Stock’s Ongoing Slump.”