Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the company’s brutal layoffs of 8,000 workers – saying “success isn’t a given” as the tech giant pushes full steam ahead into the highly competitive AI sector.

In a Wednesday memo, he tried to justify the purge, which kicked off with emails to targeted workers at 4 a.m. local time in their respective regions around the world. Another 7,000 staffers were reportedly set to be reassigned to AI-focused roles as part of the restructuring.

“Success isn’t a given. AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes,” Zuckerberg told employees in the missive, which was obtained by several news outlets. “The companies that lead the way will define the next generation.”

“We’re transforming our company to make sure it will always be the best place for talented people to have the greatest impact,” he said. “People tell us that they appreciate the ability to take greater ownership and execute their vision with less bureaucracy and management to navigate.”

Zuckerberg said it’s “always sad to say goodbye to people who have contributed to our mission,” and expressed his “gratitude” to all those impacted for their “hard work” – adding that execs “do not expect other companywide layoffs this year.”

Meta did not immediately answer a request for comment.

Some disgruntled employees at the Facebook, Meta and WhatsApp owner believe the 10% reduction that took place this week is just the beginning as Meta spends big on AI, with planned capital expenditures as high as $145 billion this year alone.

Brittany Pierson, a Dallas-based content designer who spent more than four years at Meta, said she actually felt “so much relief” after getting the ax Wednesday because she had long worried that her role would be eliminated by artificial intelligence.

“If you survive, then you need to start training yourself on an entirely new role that AI can’t replace — all while mentally preparing yourself for the next layoff, which, by the way, is rumored to be happening in August,” Pierson said on Instagram Wednesday, part of a deluge of social media posts by impacted Meta workers.

Current and former employees painted a picture of abysmal company morale on the workplace message board Blind, which allows users to post anonymously using their work email to verify their identity. 

One worker claimed she was laid off while seven months pregnant, while another said Meta’s employees are “in desperate need of therapy” after years of constant job cuts and reorgs.

Another Meta employee impacted by Wednesday’s layoffs told The Post the company will probably do a “performance-based” round of layoffs later this year “so they can label it as not a mass layoff.”

Asked about Zuckerberg’s reputation among employees, the newly-axed staffer said: “He doesn’t give a s–t. He’s focused on his bottom line.”

The employee added that the tech sector doesn’t have “the security or longevity that it used to,” speculating that “people are going to be making big career pivots right now to just escape tech.”

Matthew Young, a Seattle-based software engineer at Meta who was laid off after a year at the company, told The Post that he doesn’t think the work he did will be easily replaced with AI.

“That’s the story they’re telling us,” Young said. “Does AI increase productivity? Yeah. Does it replace people? No.”

Meta previously said laid-off workers would receive severance packages with at least 16 weeks of base pay and another two weeks for each year of employment, along with health care and career support benefits.

Zuckerberg cut more than 20,000 jobs across the company in 2022 and 2023 as he has sought to reduce bureaucracy amid the rise of AI.

The new technology has increasingly been cited as a leading reason for job cuts, as Microsoft, Block, Coinbase and Cisco all recently announced mass layoffs or buyouts.

In the first three months of 2026, the tech sector was hit with more than 52,000 layoffs – a 40% jump from the same period last year that was largely attributed to AI, according to reports from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.