Meta began notifying approximately 8,000 employees of layoffs this week, roughly 10% of its total workforce. The same week, the company announced a $27 billion joint venture with Nebius to build a gigawatt-scale AI data center in Louisiana.
The framing from Meta is that the layoffs fund AI investment, which is at least honest. Most companies run this play and call it a "restructuring to meet evolving business needs." Meta said the quiet part at a normal volume: we are cutting humans to build the infrastructure that will cut more humans.
The $27 billion data center will train models. The models will automate tasks. The tasks are currently performed by some portion of the 8,000 people receiving notices this week. The circle is tidy.
Mark Zuckerberg has described 2026 as the year AI agents begin replacing mid-level engineering roles at Meta. The layoff notices are the implementation plan for that description.
The 8,000 employees were not consulted on the $27 billion.