Arda Kucukkaya | Anadolu | Getty Images
Meanwhile, Amazon eliminated 16,000 roles in January in an effort to reduce layers and bureaucracy, amid plans to invest heavily in AI.
So far in 2026, AI has been cited in over 12,000 job cuts in the U.S., according to the latest data from consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas.
AI spend to reach $135 billion
Meta revealed in its fourth-quarter earnings reports in January that its AI-related capital expenditure will be in the range of $115 billion and $135 billion this year, roughly double the amount it spent in 2025 in efforts to build its new AI unit.
This is part of a combined $700 billion that tech hyperscalers, including Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft, are planning to invest in AI this year.
The plans have raised concerns among some investors about potentially unsustainable spending when compared with the amount of revenue being generated by AI.
Zuckerberg said that 2026 will be a major year for AI as the company’s investment focuses on his mission for “building personal super intelligence.”
Last year, the company invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI. Meta ultimately poached the group’s CEO, Alexandr Wang, and some of his top engineers and researchers.
“While we have seen significant layoffs at companies like Block who laid off 40% of headcount ‘due to AI’, if Meta is willing to reduce headcount at this scale while ramping AI investment, we think it signals a broader shift: AI is increasingly driving productivity,” Jefferies’ analysts said in a note on Sunday.
“That has important implications not just for Meta, but across the broader internet/software landscape as investors revisit the link between headcount, growth, and margins…these cuts are clearly being considered in part to offset rising AI infrastructure costs with significant AI-driven capex ramp,” they added.