Microsoft and Meta announce major workforce reductions totaling ~23,000 employees on April 23 as tech industry shifts toward AI infrastructure.

Meta plans to cut 10% of its staff (~8,000 positions) starting in late May and cancel plans to fill another 6,000 open roles. Microsoft has introduced voluntary buyouts for the first time in its 51-year history, with an estimated 8,750 US employees eligible for the program.

These moves follow a broader trend in 2026, which has already seen over 92,000 tech workers laid off as companies reallocate resources from traditional headcount to AI infrastructure.

The rise of sophisticated agentic models (AI systems that autonomously make decisions and perform tasks) has intensified concerns that AI is beginning to replace entire business divisions and generalized IT roles, even as some analysts argue these cuts will eventually create new types of employment.