The company will announce the layoffs on May 20, according to the report.

Meta announced the layoffs earlier than it had intended because details of the plan had already leaked. Bloomberg said Reuters reported on the plan earlier this month.

“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,” the memo said, per the report.

Reached by PYMNTS, Meta declined to comment on the report.

Both the Bloomberg report and the earlier Reuters one attributed the layoffs to the company’s effort to offset the investments it has been making in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

PYMNTS reported in March that plans to spend between $115 billion and $135 billion this year as it races to construct data centers, chips and other AI infrastructure. This level of spending puts it in the company of some of the biggest investors in AI infrastructure, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

It was reported in January that Meta was cutting 10% of the jobs in its Reality Labs unit, which employed about 15,000 people. That move was characterized as part of a larger plan by the company to reduce its focus on virtual reality products as it concentrates on other AI wearables.

In March, Meta said that over the next few years, it will shift the content enforcement efforts on its apps from the current third-party vendors to the company’s new AI systems.

It was reported in January 2025 that Meta was cutting 5% of its workforce in a move it said would focus on “low performers” and ready the company to build AI, glasses and the future of social media.

In March 2023, Meta said it planned to lay off 10,000 employees after cutting 11,000 jobs in November 2022. The company also said at the time that it would freeze hiring for another 5,000 roles that had been open. When announcing the November 2022 cuts, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the move was driven by online returning to prior trends after having increased during the pandemic.