Shares of Meta rose nearly 3 percent in premarket trading on Monday after a report suggested the company could be planning significant layoffs to offset the massive costs of its artificial intelligence investments.
According to a report by Reuters, executives at the tech giant have asked senior leaders to start preparing plans to reduce headcount. The report cited anonymous sources familiar with internal discussions.
Following the news, Meta’s stock climbed about 2.7 percent in premarket trading around 6:16 a.m. Eastern Time. The rebound came after the company’s shares had dropped almost 4 percent in the previous trading session.
The potential layoffs, however, have not been confirmed by the company, which described the report as speculative.
Meta Responds to the Layoff Report
When asked about the Reuters report, a spokesperson for Meta told CNBC that the claims should not be treated as confirmed plans.
The spokesperson described the report as speculation and said it discussed only theoretical approaches rather than actual decisions.
“This is a speculative report about theoretical approaches,” the company said.
Despite the denial, the possibility of layoffs has attracted attention from investors and industry analysts, especially given the scale of the workforce reductions mentioned in the report.
Potential Layoffs Could Affect Thousands of Employees
Meta had approximately 79,000 employees as of December 2025.
If the reported plan to reduce more than 20 percent of the workforce were implemented, it could impact over 15,000 employees.
Such a move would represent one of the largest workforce reductions in the company’s history.
The last major round of layoffs at Meta occurred in late 2022 when CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would cut 11,000 jobs and slow hiring as part of a broader cost-cutting effort.
That restructuring came after the tech industry experienced a slowdown following the pandemic-era boom.
AI Spending Is Reshaping Big Tech Budgets
The reported discussions around layoffs highlight a growing reality across the technology sector: artificial intelligence development requires enormous financial investment.
Companies are spending billions of dollars on data centers, computing infrastructure, and specialized chips required to train advanced AI models.
Meta has been heavily investing in AI to improve its products and compete with other major technology companies in the race to dominate the next generation of digital platforms.
These investments include expanding AI-powered features across Meta’s apps, building advanced AI models, and upgrading infrastructure to support large-scale computing needs.
While these investments are aimed at long-term growth, they also significantly increase operational costs in the short term.
Investor Concerns Over AI Spending
Investors have become increasingly cautious about the scale of spending required to compete in artificial intelligence.
Major technology companies are committing tens of billions of dollars toward AI infrastructure, raising concerns about profitability and efficiency.
Even companies with strong revenues face pressure to balance innovation with cost discipline.
The Reuters report suggested that reducing workforce costs could be one way Meta attempts to manage the financial burden of its AI expansion.
Although the company has not confirmed any such plans, the market reaction shows that investors are closely watching how tech firms balance growth with cost control.
AI Is Also Driving Workforce Changes Across Tech
Meta is not the only company where artificial intelligence is influencing workforce strategies.
Across the tech industry, many companies are exploring ways to use AI tools to automate certain tasks and improve productivity.
Some organizations are restructuring teams or reducing headcount while simultaneously investing in AI technologies.
In 2026, several firms have already announced layoffs linked to the adoption of artificial intelligence.
For example, fintech company Block, founded by Jack Dorsey, revealed plans to cut around 4,000 employees earlier this year.
The company said the move would help it move faster with smaller teams while relying more on AI to automate work processes.
Meta’s Long-Term AI Strategy
Artificial intelligence has become a central pillar of Meta’s long-term strategy.
The company is integrating AI into many of its products, including content recommendations, advertising systems, messaging services, and virtual assistants.
Meta is also investing heavily in building advanced AI models that can compete with other industry leaders.
In addition to software development, the company is expanding its physical infrastructure to support AI workloads.
This includes building large data centers and investing in powerful computing systems required to train and deploy complex AI models.
These investments are expected to play a key role in shaping Meta’s future technology platforms.
What Happens Next
At this stage, the reported layoffs remain unconfirmed.
Meta has not officially announced any workforce reduction plans tied to its AI investments.
However, the discussion reflects broader trends across the technology industry as companies reassess their operations while aggressively investing in artificial intelligence.
Investors will likely continue monitoring how companies like Meta manage the balance between large AI spending and maintaining financial efficiency.
For now, the market reaction suggests that even speculative reports about cost management strategies can significantly influence investor sentiment.
