Mark Zuckerberg admits mistakes in leaked memo after Meta layoffs

17 Jun 2026, 13:17 · The Fresno Bee

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is admitting to missteps in a newly leaked memo, following the company's significant workforce changes over the past year as it pours billions of dollars into developing artificial intelligence infrastructure.

These changes include Meta's decision last year to axe roughly 3,600 jobs after Zuckerberg warned employees in a memo that he had decided to "raise the bar on performance."

Meta continued to cut jobs this year as it doubled down on its artificial intelligence investments. In January, the company laid off about 1,000 employees in its Reality Labs division after the department incurred $73 billion in losses since 2021.

By March, it had pink-slipped several hundred employees across multiple departments, including sales, recruiting, global operations, Facebook, and again, Reality Labs. The following month, it even began tracking employees' computer activity to help build its AI agents, according to a Reuters report.

Mark Zuckerberg acknowledges Meta has "made mistakes"

Most recently, in May, Meta laid off 8,000 employees, which is 10% of its workforce, and pulled the plug on 6,000 open job positions to offset its massive AI investments. Additionally, over 7,000 employees were internally reassigned to roles that focus on AI initiatives.

When these layoffs were first announced in April, Zuckerberg said in a memo that the job cuts were necessary because "success isn't a given" amid the rapid growth of AI in the tech industry.

Now, in a new leaked memo shared by Reuters, Zuckerberg has admitted to employees that the company has "made mistakes" as it implements operational changes.

"Given ⁠the complexity of these changes, we've made mistakes and will almost certainly make more," said Zuckerberg.

He said that going forward, he is "focused on providing as much stability as possible" when making organizational changes. He also stated that he doesn't expect Meta to conduct additional companywide layoffs this year.

"I don't want to overpromise because the world is changing in ways that are out of our control," he said.

Zuckerberg also revealed that Meta will work to find new roles for employees who were reassigned to train AI models.

More Labor:

"By creating important new roles for people, this also allowed us to shrink the size of teams knowing that if we make mistakes in some places, then we could transfer some people back," he said.

He also said that Meta will be pulling back on increasing manager oversight responsibilities amid recent concerns. It will also ramp up its investment in team-building initiatives, such as allocating higher budgets for off-sites and corporate events.

It is also planning a large hackathon in July to promote cross-team collaboration and development of its latest models.

Mark Zuckerberg is reflecting on Meta's recent rounds of job cuts.

Bloomberg / Getty Images

Meta mirrors a growing tech industry trend that's raising concerns

The move from Meta comes after it revealed in its first-quarter earnings report for 2026 that it expects capital expenditures (company spend on assets) of $125 billion to $145 billion this year, up from the roughly $72 billion it spent in 2025, as it scales its AI infrastructure.

Meta isn't the only company ramping up AI investments while cutting jobs. T-Mobile has laid off hundreds of employees in recent months as it focuses on becoming a digital-first company.

Amazon announced in January that it would be cutting 16,000 corporate jobs globally as it removes bureaucracy from its workplace culture and focuses on developing AI models.

Oracle also recently laid off a whopping 30,000 employees, roughly 18% of its global workforce, as it invests billions in developing AI infrastructure, according to a report from Forbes.

As companies in the tech industry shrink their workforces, many Americans are growing concerned that their jobs will be replaced by AI, according to a survey from Quinnipiac University.

How Americans view the rise of AI in the workplace:

Roughly 71% of white-collar workers and 73% of blue-collar workers believe AI advancements are likely to reduce the number of available jobs.
About 30% of employed Americans are either very or somewhat concerned that AI could eventually make their current job obsolete.
Additionally, 51% said that AI technology is evolving fasterthan expected.
Also, 76% think businesses are not being transparent enough about their AI use, and 74% believe the government is not doing enough to regulate AI.

Source: Quinnipiac University

"Americans are not rejecting AI outright, but they are sending a warning," said Tamilla Triantoro, an associate professor at Quinnipiac University School of Business, in the survey release. "Too much uncertainty, too little trust, too little regulation, and too much fear about jobs."

These growing concerns among Americans are valid, as a recent report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that U.S. employers announced 97,006 layoffs in May, of which 38,579 were due to AI.

The technology industry announced 38,242 job cuts in May, the highest monthly total for the sector since August 2024.

In the report, Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said that "companies are restructuring aggressively as they reposition for an AI-driven economy."

"AI is now the leading reason companies give for cutting jobs and the primary industry citing it is Technology," said Challenger.

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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 6:17 AM.