--- title: "Zuckerberg Tells the Tattered Remainder of His Workers That He Won’t Conduct Another a Mass Firing for at Least Seven Months" description: "According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, there likely won't be any more mass layoffs until next year, which isn't exactly far away." date: "2026-05-21" modified: "2026-05-21" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/zuckerberg-mass-firing-seven-months" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Meta" --- # Zuckerberg Tells the Tattered Remainder of His Workers That He Won’t Conduct Another a Mass Firing for at Least Seven Months ![A black-and-white portrait of Mark Zuckerberg wearing a suit, white shirt, and striped tie. The background is bright orange with a large neon green circle behind his head and some red spots scattered around. The image has a graphic, stylized look.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images* The tech giant Meta [fired]() about 8,000 workers yesterday — about 10 percent of its staff — and reassigned 7,000 more to AI projects. The company's remaining workers continue to have every [click of their work lives monitored]() as the company pivots from [expensive]() project to [even-more-expensive]() project — but not to worry! According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, there won't be any more layoffs for *at least* seven more months. Meta first told employees that the massive workforce cuts were coming back in April, leaving staff in [employment limbo]() until Wednesday. According [to the *New York Times*](), the layoffs were announced in a company memo, in which Zuckerberg declared that "AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes" and that the "companies that lead the way will define the next generation." Per the *NYT*, Zuckerberg further noted in the memo that he doesn't expect another large culling to take place this year. You know, the year that's already close to halfway over. The not-particularly-comforting guarantee comes as morale at Meta is already [wildly low](). As [*Reuters* reported in April](), the social media behemoth recently installed new surveillance software on Meta apps and devices that's designed to track and store its workers' computer use — down to every click, keystroke, and mouse movement — in an effort to use that data to train AI models. In a memo obtained *Reuters,* Meta's chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth told staff that it was using the data to train AI agents capable of performing similar tasks. "The vision we are building towards is ​one where our agents primarily do the work," read the memo, "and our role is to direct, review and help them improve." In other words, Meta employees are currently being forced to train agents expressly designed to do exactly what they do. Some workers are pushing back: according to the *NYT*'s reporting, Meta buildings have been plastered with flyers decrying the mass train-your-replacement effort, and [according to the *Wall Street Journal*](), more than 1,500 staffers have signed a petition against the surveillance. As it stands, however, there's no way for the company's remaining employees to opt out of the AI-training program on their devices. Meaning that while they might be safe through the end of the year, the act of continuing to do their jobs could ultimately help put them out of one in the future. **More on Meta:** *[Why Is Mark Zuckerberg Taunting His Employees Before Firing Them?]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()