Meta, LinkedIn Announce Fresh Job Cuts Amid AI Push

San Francisco: Major technology companies in the United States are continuing workforce restructuring amid a growing focus on artificial intelligence (AI), with Meta and LinkedIn announcing significant layoffs and organisational changes.According to a report by NBC News, Meta is planning a major restructuring exercise that includes layoffs affecting nearly 10 per cent of its workforce, while shifting around 7,000 employees into AI-focused roles.The report said Meta will reorganise these employees into four new AI-focused divisions as part of its broader strategy to increase investments in artificial intelligence.As part of the restructuring, around 8,000 employees are expected to be laid off, while nearly 6,000 open positions will remain unfilled. Meta had earlier outlined the restructuring plan in an internal memo issued in April.Meta’s Head of People, Janelle Gale, stated in the 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 tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here,” she added.Affected employees are expected to receive details regarding the layoffs and restructuring through email communications. The move reflects Meta’s increasing emphasis on AI-driven growth across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.During the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, Meta Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said the company is heavily focused on using AI tools to improve productivity and engineering efficiency.Meta has also raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to between USD 125 billion and USD 145 billion, up from the earlier estimate of USD 115 billion to USD 135 billion, citing higher component costs and increased data centre spending linked to AI expansion.Despite the aggressive AI investments, investor concerns persist. Meta’s stock has declined nearly 9 per cent this year and has fallen almost 10 per cent since its April earnings announcement.Analysts at JPMorgan Chase reportedly downgraded Meta shares, saying the company faces a “more challenging path to returns” compared to competitors in the AI race. Analysts at Bank of America also questioned whether the scale of Meta’s AI spending would remain sustainable in the long term.Meta employed 77,986 workers as of March 2026, compared to 86,482 employees in 2022.Meanwhile, according to a report by the New York Post, LinkedIn has announced layoffs affecting more than 600 employees.The report cited a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing showing that 606 LinkedIn employees were informed of permanent layoffs, which are set to take effect on July 13.The largest number of layoffs — around 352 employees — came from LinkedIn’s Mountain View office in California, along with 66 remote workers based in the same city. Another 108 employees were laid off in San Francisco, 59 in Sunnyvale and 21 in Carpinteria.The layoffs follow an internal memo from LinkedIn CEO Daniel Shapero, who said the company needed to “reinvent how we work” and redirect investments toward infrastructure and long-term priorities.The memo added that LinkedIn would reduce roles across marketing, engineering, product and other business functions. The company is also reportedly cutting spending on marketing campaigns, vendor expenses, customer events and office space.The layoffs come despite LinkedIn recently reporting 12 per cent year-on-year revenue growth in its third-quarter earnings.LinkedIn’s parent company Microsoft has also announced buyout offers that could affect nearly 7 per cent of its 125,000-person workforce, or around 8,750 employees.The buyout programme is aimed at employees eligible for early retirement based on age and years of service.



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