Meta Platforms and Microsoft have announced massive layoffs as part of the tech companies’ efforts to increase investments in artificial intelligence (AI), which they claim will improve operational efficiency.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said on Thursday it plans to cut 10 per cent of its workforce, or roughly about 8,000 of its 78,000 employees, beginning in May as it ramps up spending on AI.
Meta’s chief people officer Janelle Gale said in an internal memo cited by The New York Times that the move is part of their “continued effort to run the company more efficiently,” and to “offset other investments” without specifically mentioning AI.
Meanwhile, co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was blunt about the transition during January’s Q4 results conference call, saying that Meta would see a big shift toward AI following strong performance in 2025 driven by AI-related gains.
On Thursday, Microsoft also announced its first-ever buyout of employees as the software company adjusts to major changes sparked by AI.
Microsoft said it will offer a one-time voluntary retirement to American employees at senior director level and below whose age and years of service total at least 70.
For example, an employee who is 55 years old and is working for the company for 15 years would qualify.
CNBC reported, citing a source knowledgeable of the matter, that around 7% of the US employees would be affected by the change.
As of June, Microsoft has a total of 228,000 employees, with 125,000 in the US.
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AI replacing human tasks raises concerns
The Microsoft and Meta layoffs have raised concerns among workers that AI taking over tasks traditionally handled by humans might cause a labor crisis.
In one Reddit discussion, one user likened the situation working in big tech companies to “playing Russian roulette” because of the constant uncertainty in their jobs.
Meanwhile, one user on X said: “This is how it begins. Not with chaos… but with decisions. A company like Meta Platforms doesn’t just cut 8,000 jobs randomly. It’s a signal.”
According to a study published by Boston Consulting Group (BGC), AI will reshape far more jobs than it will replace.
The study finds that more workers will not lose their jobs entirely, but their roles will be transformed as AI automates parts of their tasks while increasing expectations for productivity and skill.
Tech company upgrading AI model
As major companies continue integrating artificial intelligence into their workforce, OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI tool ChatGPT, has launched its latest model, GPT-5.5, describing it as its “smartest and most intuitive” update yet.
According to OpenAI, the new model “excels at writing and debugging code, researching online, analyzing data, creating documents and spreadsheets, operating software, and moving across tools until a task is finished.”
The company added that users no longer need to manage every step of a process in detail, saying: “Instead of carefully managing every step, you can give GPT-5.5 a messy, multi-part task and trust it to plan, use tools, check its work, navigate through ambiguity, and keep going.”
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