Meta to cut about 10% workforce as Microsoft rolls out voluntary retirement plan
The planned reduction would affect roughly 8,000 employees, based on Meta’s reported workforce of 78,865 as of December 31, 2025.
Meta Platforms plans to cut about 10% of its global workforce as part of ongoing restructuring aimed at boosting efficiency while expanding investments in artificial intelligence (AI), according to media reports citing an internal memo.
The planned reduction would affect roughly 8,000 employees, based on Meta's reported workforce of 78,865 as of December 31, 2025.
The company said it remains focused on "operating efficiently" while continuing heavy investment in AI infrastructure and talent.
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It also projected capital expenditures of between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026, driven by its Meta Superintelligence Labs initiative and core business expansion.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has introduced a one-time voluntary retirement programme for a small percentage of long-serving US employees, a move that reports suggest could involve thousands of workers.
As of June 30, 2025, Microsoft employed about 228,000 full-time staff worldwide, including 125,000 in the United States, according to its annual report.
The company has also significantly increased spending on AI infrastructure. In its fiscal 2026 second-quarter earnings call, Microsoft said capital expenditures reached $37.5 billion, with around two-thirds allocated to short-lived assets such as GPUs and CPUs.
The developments highlight how major US technology firms are reshaping their workforce structures while ramping up investment in AI-driven systems and services.
