Meta Lays Off 700 Employees, While Rewarding Top Executives

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/technology/meta-layoffs-ai-executives.html

Meta Lays Off 700 Employees, While Rewarding Top Executives
The jobs cuts and a new stock program for executives come as Meta continues to shift its focus to artificial intelligence.
By Eli Tan
March 25, 2026

Meta on Wednesday laid off around 700 employees, a person with knowledge of the company said, the latest downsizing as the Silicon Valley giant shifts its priorities toward artificial intelligence.

Less than 24 hours earlier, the company unveiled a new stock program for six top executives that could increase compensation for some of them by as much as $921 million each over the next five years. Meta said the move was a way to retain talent in the A.I. era and push it toward ambitious growth.

The dichotomy — cutting some employees while rewarding high-ranking executives — underlines how much A.I. has changed the tech industry. In recent years, Meta has been trying to move beyond its social media and metaverse businesses. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, has declared that he is striving to create “superintelligence,” or a godlike A.I. that can act as the ultimate personal companion.

Last year, Mr. Zuckerberg shelled out billions of dollars to hire a team of A.I. specialists. At the same time, the company planned to cut 10 percent to 15 percent of Reality Labs, its division making virtual reality and metaverse products.

The latest layoffs compounded a tough day for Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found the company liable for harming a young user with addictive design features on Instagram in a bellwether case that could open social media companies to more lawsuits over users’ well-being.

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