META
Zuck has a vision. His employees have severance packages.
On Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg wrote: "AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes."
Then his staff felt those consequences. As of May 20th, 10% of Meta’s global workforce — 8,000 people — no longer have a job.
But that’s only part of this story. Let’s rewind to Monday.
Two days before these mass cuts, the C-suite announced that 7,000 workers would be reassigned to AI initiatives. (A move quickly nicknamed “The Draft”.) And to sweeten the deal, anyone who willingly joined the Applied AI team would be protected from the impending layoffs.
Volunteer or get voluntold.
But even if workers didn’t sign up, they’ll still contribute to the cause. In leaked audio from an internal meeting, Zuck explains how tracking devices are feeding employee data to its LLMs.
In other words, Meta’s highly-skilled workers are (potentially) training their digital replacements.
The numbers:
Of Meta’s 78,000 employees, 8,000 were laid off and 7,000 will pivot to AI departments
The company doubled their AI budget for 2026, in the ballpark of $125–145 billion
Over 1,000 employees have signed a petition against the AI data tracking program
None of this would be shocking if the company was struggling. But back in March, Meta reported a record-high revenue of $214 billion.
The reason for this restructuring isn’t to fix a problem, but to double down on what’s already working. By reallocating funds from other departments (like advertising and virtual reality), Meta can reinvest in AI initiatives.
History repeats
The AI era is frequently compared to the Industrial Revolution, a time when factory workers were initially displaced. But then the economy adapted, new jobs emerged, and the lightbulb went mainstream. Win!
So if history holds, Meta’s move makes sense… on a spreadsheet anyway. They’re also not alone in this business plan. Cisco, Microsoft, and Coinbase are among recent corporations trimming headcount in favor of AI. Whether the end justifies the means, is still TBD.
Progress has a price. This time, it came with a severance package.
Like I always say, don’t bite the hand that feeds you $214B. - TL