Meta Platforms began laying off thousands of employees in May 2026 and reassigning thousands of others to AI-focused roles. The layoffs would affect 10% of the company, or roughly 8,000 employees, and that the company would also cancel plans to hire for 6,000 open roles….Meta is full steam ahead into a gargantuan effort to reimagine its workforce and become more nimble to compete with AI-native startups. The company has flattened teams and started tracking employees’ keystrokes and mouse clicks to help train its AI models on how to use computers.

Sentiment among the company’s staffers is at its most negative level on record. More than 1,500 employees have signed a petition demanding that Meta dies not collect employee “computer-use” data to train its AI models. When asked if there was a way to opt out of the AI computer-tracking program, a Meta executive replied that there wasn’t.

Excerpt from Meghan Bobrowsky et al, Meta Begins Laying Off Thousands of Employees as It Transforms Around AI Investments, WSJ, May 20, 2026