In the Name of AI, Tens of Thousands of Employees Laid Off by These Firms

The Indonesian article discusses AI as a concept likely to benefit humanity but questions how tech firms are using AI as a justification for mass layoffs. According to Layoffs.fyi data up to May 22, 2026, 114,210 employees from 150 technology companies worldwide have been laid off this year. For instance, on May 20, 2026, 8,000 workers were laid off by Facebook. In April 2026, Oracle laid off a total of 30,000 employees globally. The major narrative from tech firms using AI as a pretext for mass layoffs is efficiency; but there are two types of efficiency expected from AI: first, layoffs to directly replace roles with AI to cut production costs; second, layoffs to help fund AI development for the company. The efficiency claimed in the name of AI can be traced through the layoffs carried out by these tech giants that have sacrificed tens of thousands of workers. Meta (the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram) announced in April that it would cut 10 percent of its total workforce. Then, on May 20, 2026, Meta formally laid off about 8,000 employees globally. At the end of March, Meta had about 80,000 employees, so the layoff reduced the company’s headcount to around 72,000. According to a person familiar with the plan, the latest layoffs mainly targeted the engineering and product teams, and additional cuts could still occur by the end of the year. The layoffs are part of Meta’s strategy to become an AI-dominant company. In an internal memo to affected staff, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned that sacrifices are needed to master AI. “But success is not guaranteed. AI is the most important technology in our lives. The leading companies will define the next generation,” Zuckerberg said in the memo, which was posted on X by a New York Times reporter, as reported by NBC News on May 22, 2026. Before cutting staff, on May 18, Meta restructured by moving 7,000 employees to a new AI project to develop products and AI agents. The reduction and restructuring of staff are part of Meta’s strategy to master AI. Meta’s ambition to become an AI company is also visible through its investment steps. This year Meta has committed more than $100 billion to AI investments, with total capex expected to reach $125–145 billion. On early April, American tech giant Oracle carried out a dramatic move by laying off 30,000 workers, reducing total global staff by 18%. The layoff action was framed as a restructuring to simplify operations and eliminate positions deemed no longer relevant, though it aligns with a broader objective to shift investment toward AI and data center infrastructure. One of the largest tech companies in the US and globally, Amazon, cut 16,000 workers in the face of AI competition earlier this year, reducing 9 percent of its total staff. This was not Amazon’s first round of layoffs in 2026 but the second since 2025; in late October last year, the company laid off 14,000 workers. Jassy explained the impact of AI adoption at Amazon last year, noting the need for fewer workers to perform certain tasks and more workers for other roles as AI and generative AI and agents become more widespread. However, AI-driven efficiency is not the sole reason for layoff at Amazon. The company faces fierce competition with other tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Meta, and OpenAI to advance AI and expand compute infrastructure. The cost of AI development and infrastructure is high. Amazon has invested heavily in AI, including around Rp 211 trillion in Australia in mid-2025 to build AI data centres, and in March 2026 committed $50 billion to OpenAI. In mid-May, Cisco laid off 4,000 workers, cutting 5 percent of its global staff, with CEO Chuck Robbins stating the cuts were for resource efficiency to focus on AI investments.