Meta lays off 8,000 employees as it accelerates its bet on AI.

In recent weeks, Meta employees have experienced days of great uncertainty. In April, it was announced that 8,000 workers, around 10 percent of the total workforce, would be laid off starting May 20 as part of a restructuring to prioritize artificial intelligence.

On Monday, it was revealed that another 7,000 employees would be reassigned to AI projects, and notifications began on Wednesday. The layoffs started in Singapore in the early morning and then spread to other countries according to their local times.

Many workers began checking the internal directory to see who from their teams was left out. In the company forums, hundreds reacted with salad emojis, an internal way to show solidarity.

Reactions and Internal Climate

Mark Zuckerberg, in an internal memo, thanked the work of those laid off and expressed optimism about the future of AI. He stated that no further layoffs are expected this year and emphasized that "AI is the technology with the most consequences in our lives."

Before the cuts, employees in New York gathered to "commiserate or celebrate." More than 1,000 signed a petition against data tracking, and critical internal posts received hundreds of reactions.

The Big Bet on Superintelligence

Zuckerberg wants to create a "superintelligence" that functions as the ultimate personal assistant. Meta plans to invest between $125 billion and $145 billion this year, more than double that in 2025, with a large portion allocated to AI.

The transformation from a social media company to one focused on AI is generating anger and anxiety among the nearly 78,000 workers. A software engineer, Mack Ward, posted a message calling for "hitting the brakes" and thinking about how society wants to move forward with this technology, which received over 2,000 likes.