Microsoft and Meta have announced significant workforce reductions as both companies accelerate spending on artificial intelligence, extending a wave of job cuts across major US technology firms.
Meta is laying off approximately 8,000 workers — roughly 10 percent of its workforce — and leaving 6,000 existing vacancies unfilled, citing the need for efficiency savings as it ramps up AI investment. The company has told investors that spending will exceed $160 billion during 2026, up from about $120 billion the previous year, as it competes to hire AI researchers and build out data-centre capacity.
Microsoft has opened a voluntary redundancy programme affecting around 8,750 staff in its core US workforce, equivalent to about 7 percent of total employees. In a memo to employees, chief people officer Amy Coleman said: “Our hope is that this program gives those eligible the choice to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company support.”
The twin announcements reflect an industry-wide restructuring as tech giants divert payroll savings into large-scale AI infrastructure. The cuts follow similar moves earlier in the year at other Silicon Valley employers, and come despite both companies reporting robust revenue growth.
The trend has implications for Sri Lanka’s information-technology and business-process sectors, which supply talent to global platforms and support offshore services for US clients. Local recruiters and industry bodies have flagged concern that tightening hiring at headquarters could slow expansion of regional engineering teams.
