Meta Platforms will lay off a few hundred people across its Reality Labs division, social media teams and recruiting operations Wednesday, The Information reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Meta was planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company's workforce and that top executives had signaled the plans to other senior leaders and told them to begin planning how to pare back.

The cuts reported on Wednesday, which affects only a tiny portion of the company's overall workforce, will also impact a smaller number of employees in its sales unit.

The Facebook parent is seeking to offset rising costs tied to massive investments in artificial intelligence, having forecast total expenses of $162 billion to $169 billion in 2026, and rising employee compensation as the company spends millions to hire top AI talent.

Meta had nearly 79,000 employees as of December 31, according to its annual filing.

While limited in scale compared to earlier layoffs, the move signals continued pressure on white-collar roles inside one of the world’s largest technology companies, TheStreet.com reports.

The reductions come as Meta continues to redirect resources toward AI development and infrastructure, part of a wider industry trend that is reshaping hiring and employment across sectors.

That combination of workforce reductions alongside surging capital investment is becoming increasingly common across the tech sector.

Amazon cut roughly 16,000 corporate roles earlier this year, while fintech firm Block eliminated about 4,000 positions, with leadership pointing directly to AI as a replacement for certain job functions.

Unlike previous economic slowdowns, the current wave of layoffs is concentrated in white-collar roles.

Mid-level managers are being reduced as companies flatten organizational structures, recruiting and human resources teams are shrinking as hiring slows, customer support functions are being automated, and internal IT and operational roles are increasingly handled by software systems.

The pressure is also building at the entry level, where companies are pulling back on hiring rather than conducting large-scale layoffs. Many of the routine tasks once assigned to junior employees are now being performed by AI tools, limiting opportunities for new workers to enter the workforce and gain experience.

Some analysts caution that artificial intelligence may not be the sole driver behind the cuts. They argue that companies are still correcting for aggressive hiring during the pandemic years and are using AI as a justification for broader cost reductions. Others note that many firms have yet to fully deploy AI systems capable of replacing large portions of their workforce.

Still, the data suggests AI is becoming an increasingly cited factor in job reductions. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports that AI has been linked to tens of thousands of layoffs since 2023, with the pace accelerating in early 2026.