As artificial intelligence continues to drive both spending and job cuts in the tech industry, Meta just announced the first major wave of layoffs this year, which will likely be followed by a second wave before the end of the year.

Meta is laying off 8,000 employees, or around 10% of its global workforce, and closing around 6,000 open roles, as the company announced in an internal memo Thursday that is being widely reported.

Facebook's parent company's plan to slash about 20% of its workforce this year as it invests heavily in AI was first reported over a month ago, and today's announcement appears to represent just a first wave of cuts. Sources told Reuters earlier this week that the first round of layoffs was scheduled for May 20, and further layoffs are being planned "in the second half of the year," with the numbers still to be determined based on how well AI systems in the company are able to create efficiencies.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously warned investors that the company's expenses would be rising this year, both based on the enormous compensation packages it offered to AI experts it recently hired, and based on other costs associated with the AI push.

As the AP reports, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told investors Thursday that Meta's layoffs were welcome news for the company's financials, as it continues to "automate tasks that once required large teams, allowing the company to streamline operations and reduce costs while maintaining productivity driving an increased need for a leaner operating structure."

Another one of America's largest companies, Microsoft, is looking at similarly wide-ranging cuts, as the AP notes, but for now they are planning to broadly offer voluntary buyouts and early retirements to around 8,750 employees, or around 7% of its US workforce.

"Our hope is that this program gives those eligible the choice to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company support," said Microsoft's Chief People Officer Amy Coleman in a memo, per CNBC.

In a somewhat less generous mode, Meta's chief people officer, Janelle Gale, told employees in her layoff memo, "We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making. This is not an easy trade-off and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here."

It remains unclear how many of the layoffs will be in the Bay Area. As of last month, Meta was said to have around 79,000 employees around the globe.

Meta has made significant slashes to its headcount in recent years, including a 5% cut of around 3,600 employees in February 2025, and a mass wave of 21,000 employees in two big layoffs between November 2023 and March 2024. These cuts have come amid contined hires, with the headcount growing again after each. Still, the company's headcount has come down since ballooning to around 87,000 during the pandemic, during Zuckerberg's push into the metaverse that he later admitted was a mistake.

In an example of the direction Meta is taking with AI internally, in order to increase efficiencies, the company is reportedly building an AI clone of Zuck himself, you know, to attend meetings and pretend he's listening when he can't actually be there himself.

Previously: Report: Meta Planning to Lay Off 16,000 Employees In AI-Driven Move to Cut Costs

Top image: Sign with logo in front of the headquarters of Meta at 1 Hacker Way in the Silicon Valley, Menlo Park, California, July 11, 2024. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)