En esta noticia
Meta and Microsoft announce mass layoffs in the U.S. technology sector: more than 16,000 workers at both companies will lose their jobs in a wave of cuts that the companies themselves link to their investments in artificial intelligence.
The decision was confirmed by the executives of both corporations. Meta will eliminate close to 8,000 positions —10% of its global workforce— while Microsoft has, for the first time in its 51-year history, launched a voluntary retirement program that affects more than 8,000 employees.
Layoffs: how many jobs Meta and Microsoft are eliminating
Meta will eliminate close to 8,000 positions. Its chief people officer, Janelle Gale, explained that the cuts aim to “offset other investments” — referring to an AI spending plan that exceeds $115 billion in 2026 alone.
Microsoft is offering early retirement to employees whose age plus years of service total 70 or more. It is the first time in the company’s history that such an exit has been implemented, according to an internal memo from its chief people officer, Amy Coleman.
Jobs eliminated by company
- Meta: ~8,000 positions (10% of global workforce)
- Microsoft: +8,000 jobs in the U.S. (7% of local workforce, voluntary retirement)
Investment in AI and cuts? Companies are moving in this direction
Both companies are betting that AI will make it possible to produce the same output with fewer people. Meta will allocate more than $115 billion to AI this year; Microsoft has committed $140 billion to technological infrastructure. The cuts reallocate resources: less payroll, more technology.
But not everyone agrees with that interpretation. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned about “AI washing”: companies that attribute layoffs to AI that they would have carried out anyway. Microsoft also faces additional pressure: its shares have fallen 14% so far this year, and it has yet to develop a competitive in-house AI model.