Meta and Microsoft announce thousands of job cuts as AI spending accelerates
Meta will cut 8,000 employees-10% of its workforce-while Microsoft offers voluntary redundancy to 8,750 staff members. Both announcements come as the tech giants redirect resources toward artificial intelligence development.
Meta informed staff on April 23 that it would eliminate positions across the company and leave thousands of open vacancies unfilled. The company plans to spend $135 billion on AI this year, nearly double its 2025 investment.
Microsoft's voluntary redundancy program targets 7% of its workforce. Eligibility depends on a formula combining years of service and age-both must total 70 or more. The company will notify eligible employees by early May, giving them 30 days to decide.
Microsoft's chief people officer Amy Coleman said in a memo: "Many of these employees have spent years, and in some cases, decades, shaping Microsoft into what it is today. Our hope is that this programme gives those eligible the choice to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company support."
Broader tech industry reductions
Meta's cuts represent its largest layoff announcement since 2023. The company revealed earlier this month that it tracks employee keystrokes and mouseclicks through an internal app to train AI systems.
Microsoft is also restructuring compensation by reducing pay levels and decoupling stock awards from bonuses.
The redundancies extend beyond these two companies. Snapchat cut 1,000 employees last week, while Oracle faces potential cuts as high as 30,000 according to reports.
Debate over root causes
Roman Stanek, founder and CEO of software company GoodData, questions whether AI is driving the cuts. "AI isn't killing jobs," he said. "The reality is that these companies over-hired during Covid on the assumption that pandemic-era growth was permanent. It wasn't."
Stanek argues that AI serves as "the most convenient scapegoat available" for what amounts to an "over-hiring correction." Companies made aggressive hiring decisions during the pandemic that proved unsustainable once growth normalized.
For HR professionals managing workforce planning and organizational change, these announcements signal a shift in how tech companies allocate resources. AI for Human Resources tools and strategies are becoming central to how organizations restructure talent and operations. AI for CHROs provides frameworks for understanding these transitions at the strategic level.
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