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Meta, Microsoft to cut thousands of jobs amid AI push
By Josh White
Date: Friday 24 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - Meta and Microsoft are preparing to cut thousands of jobs, it emerged on Friday, as two of the world's largest technology companies looked to control costs while increasing investment in artificial intelligence.
Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said it was planning to cut about 8,000 roles, equivalent to around 10% of its workforce, and would also leave roughly 6,000 vacancies unfilled.
The company said in a staff memo that the reductions were intended to improve efficiency and allow new investment in other parts of the business.
The move came as Meta accelerated spending on AI talent and infrastructure, including data centres needed to support products such as chatbots and large language models.
It previously told investors that spending would rise sharply in 2026, as it looked to keep pace with rivals in the intensifying race to develop AI systems.
Microsoft was taking a different route, launching a voluntary redundancy programme expected to be offered in early May to about 8,750 employees, or 7% of its US workforce.
The company's chief people officer, Amy Coleman, told staff the programme was intended to give eligible employees the option to leave on supported terms.
"Many of these employees have spent years, and in some cases, decades, shaping Microsoft into what it is today," Coleman said, according to Personnel 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."
The announcements extended a wider pattern of job reductions across the technology sector after a period of rapid hiring during the pandemic.
Several major groups are now reallocating spending towards AI, though some analysts and industry executives argue the cuts also reflect a correction after previous over-expansion.
Both Meta and Microsoft are due to brief investors with trading updates next week.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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