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Meta is considering major layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company\u2019s workforce, according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n These layoffs could help the Facebook parent company offset its aggressive spending on AI infrastructure<\/a>, as well as AI-related acquisitions and hiring<\/a>. Meta employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, according to a recent filing.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is speculative reporting about theoretical approaches,\u201d a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n The report comes as many tech companies \u2014 most recently Block<\/a> \u2014 have announced sweeping layoffs that they say are necessary as AI automates more work. But some pundits, and even executives like OpenAI\u2019s Sam Altman<\/a>, have suggested that many of these cuts are \u201cAI-washing<\/a>,\u201d where executives use AI as cover for other issues<\/a>, such as over-hiring during the pandemic.<\/p>\n The last time Meta announced layoffs of this scale was in November 2022, when it cut 11,000 jobs<\/a>, followed by another 10,000 in March 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n