Meta to Cut 8,000 Employees on May 20, with Additional Layoffs Planned for H2 2026

Meta will begin companywide layoffs on May 20, cutting approximately 8,000 employees — roughly 10% of its 78,865-person global workforce — with additional cuts planned for the second half of 2026, according to Reuters sources. The layoffs, announced via an internal memo from HR head Janelle Gale, are structural rather than performance-based, reorganizing teams into AI-focused 'pods' under Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang's Superintelligence Labs. Meta is also canceling 6,000 open requisitions, bringing the effective headcount reduction to 14,000 positions. The restructuring follows earlier 2026 cuts of 1,000-1,500 Reality Labs employees in January and 700 more across five divisions in March. Meta's 2026 capex is expected to reach $115-135 billion as it redirects resources toward AI infrastructure. The May round is the third wave of 2026 layoffs and represents Meta's most significant restructuring since the 'year of efficiency' in 2022-2023 that eliminated 21,000 jobs.