Meta will lay off 8,000 employees, while Microsoft is offering buyouts to 8,750 people, a first for the Windows maker.
Published on 23 April 2026
Meta is laying off about 8,000 employees, or about 10 percent of its workforce, as the company continues to increase spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and higher-paid AI-expert hires, the company said.
On Thursday, the company said it was cutting parts of its business for efficiency and to allow for new investment, as first reported by Bloomberg, which also said the company would leave about 6,000 jobs vacant.
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Also on Thursday, Microsoft said it was offering voluntary buyouts to thousands of its American employees.
The software giant plans to extend the offers to about 8,750 people, or 7 percent of its U.S. workforce, by early May, according to two people familiar with the plan who were not authorized to speak publicly about it.
While an option for sudden layoffs to shed tech staff from peers like Meta and Oracle, the savings are likely linked to a similar industry upheaval that requires huge spending on artificial intelligence costs.
Meta has already warned investors that its 2026 expenses will increase significantly — in the range of $162 billion to $169 billion — driven by infrastructure costs and employee compensation, especially for the AI ​​experts it is hiring at attractive salary levels.
This week, Meta also said it was opening an AI-optimized data center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a $1 billion investment and its 28th data center in the US.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives welcomed Meta’s cut in a note to investors on Thursday.
He said he sees it as “part of a strategy to use AI tools to automate tasks that once required large teams, allowing the company to streamline operations and reduce costs while maintaining productivity, which has led to the increasing need for a lean operational structure”.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington state, spends billions of dollars operating an ever-expanding global network of data centers that power its suite of cloud computing services, AI systems and productivity tools including the AI ​​assistant Copilot.
CNBC reported Thursday on a memo from Microsoft Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announcing the voluntary retirement plan.
“Our hope is that this program gives eligible people the option to take the next step on their own terms with the company’s generous support,” Coleman wrote, according to CNBC.
Meta stock fell 2.3 percent on Thursday, while Microsoft stock fell 3.97 percent.
