Facebook and Instagram's parent company has been investing huge sums of money in AI, but it lags behind competitors.

Meta Platforms Inc. is alerting thousands of employees that they’re being laid off, part of a previously announced restructuring aimed at reducing costs while the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence.

The Facebook owner is planning to lay off 10% of its employees on Wednesday, with additional deep cuts slated to come later this year.

Meta flagged the job cuts last month, and a company spokesperson said that affected employees were notified on Wednesday.

Meta is reportedly cutting about 8,000 jobs while raising AI infrastructure spending, highlighting Big Tech’s shift toward leaner, AI-focused teams.

The attorney general’s office argues WhatsApp and parent company Meta are deceiving users by claiming the companies can’t view their encrypted messages.

Zach Wilson, a former Meta engineer who has also worked at Netflix and Airbnb, said the company contacted him regarding a principal-level role while simultaneously carrying out one of its largest recent workforce reductions.

Meta signage outside company headquarters in Menlo Park, California - Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via UPDATE (5/21): Meta initiated a fresh round of layoffs on Wednesday. Around 8,000 employees,