Mark Zuckerberg says Meta is cutting 8,000 jobs to pay for AI infrastructure — insatiable compute demand means the company can't rule out further headcount reductions

Meta plans about 8,000 layoffs as Mark Zuckerberg says rising AI infrastructure costs are forcing a shift in spending away from headcount.

The company raised its 2026 capex outlook to as much as $145 billion, underscoring the scale of spending on AI compute and data centers.

Meta posted strong quarterly revenue and profit growth, yet the cuts have sparked debate over whether AI is being used to justify job reductions.

The move highlights how the cost of building AI infrastructure is reshaping big tech budgets and could lead to more workforce reductions across the industry.