Meta Platforms Almost Slashed 60% of Jobs in AI Push. What Comes Next for META Stock.

Meta Platforms Almost Slashed 60% of Jobs in AI Push. What Comes Next for META Stock.

Wajeeh Khan

Thu, August 27, 2026 at 12:03 AM GMT+3 3 min read

• META -0.87%

Meta Platforms (META) shares are in focus on Aug. 26 after Reuters disclosed new details about CEO Mark Zuckerberg's ambitious plan to restructure the firm around artificial intelligence (AI).

The report said META considered cutting some teams by as much as 60% as part of the initiative, although it ultimately laid off just 10% of its workforce in May and abandoned a planned second wave of job cuts.

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At the time of writing, Meta stock is down more than 10% versus the start of this year.

What Reuters Revealed About Meta's Layoffs

The latest report sheds more light on Meta's so-called Project OT, an AI-driven restructuring effort designed to make the company more AI native. Internal plans envisioned AI agents taking over portions of employees' day-to-day work, allowing smaller teams to handle more responsibilities.

Meta Platforms ultimately cut about 8,000 employees in May.

However, Reuters reported Wednesday that the company scrapped a second round of reductions after employee backlash and evidence that AI tools were not producing the expected productivity gains.

Here's What It Really Means for META Stock

For META shares, the Reuters report is somewhat of a mixed signal.

Further layoffs could reduce expenses and help offset the company's enormous AI infrastructure spending, but the decision to halt additional job cuts suggests management is still working out how quickly AI can replace or augment human labor.

In Q2, Meta Platforms' costs and expenses climbed 55% on a year-over-year basis to $42.03 billion, while the giant expects 2026 capital spending of at least $130 billion in total.

Meta Platforms' second-quarter results showed costs and expenses jumped 55% year-on-year to $42.03 billion, while the company expects 2026 capital spending of $130 billion to $145 billion.

In the near term, investors should watch the $592 level closely, which coincides with the 50-day moving average (MA). A decisive break above this level could accelerate bullish momentum in the near term.

What's the Consensus Rating on Meta Platforms?

Note that Wall Street analysts remain bullish as ever on META stock for the remainder of 2026.

The consensus rating on Meta Platforms sits at "Strong Buy" currently, with the mean price target of $751 indicating potential upside of more than 25% from here.

On the date of publication, Wajeeh Khan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com