Meta’s AI push hits worker backlash and rising infrastructure costs
Reuters reports that employee compensation and data-center spending are rising as Meta reorganizes around AI.
Meta’s push to reorganize its workforce around artificial intelligence is facing employee resistance, rising compensation costs and heavy infrastructure spending, Reuters reported.
Meta’s workforce is shrinking while revenue per worker rises, but total worker compensation exceeded $30 billion in the first half of 2026. Excluding severance, compensation was nearly 30% higher than a year earlier.
Capital expenditure on data centers is estimated to reach nearly $170 billion next year, increasing the cost of Meta’s AI strategy and potentially offsetting savings from a smaller workforce.
Reuters reported that changes to Meta’s codebase are expanding faster than features reaching users, while the security and reliability of automated work remain uncertain.
AI, tech, and the markets they move—in one daily briefing.
Daily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy.
Plans to reorganize employees into small groups focused on top talent also fueled confusion and resentment as workers faced reassignments and the possibility of training their AI replacements.
Meta ultimately scaled back planned firings and team restructuring as the company tested whether its AI investment could deliver lasting productivity gains.